Summer Fades To Fall
by deadheart115
Summary: This summer Sonny has to focus on earning money for college; but with her summer dream job mess, lots of cute guys around, and Chad working close by, one thing's for sure. This is going to be one tough summer. - COMPLETE -
1. Prologue

_A/N: This is just a prologue for this story. I'll start this story after I finish with my other story, "Just One of Little Life's Games"-which will be soon. I just have around three more chapters to put up before I finish. Then I will start this story. Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any Sonny With a Chance.

* * *

_

**Prologue:**

This summer is going to be different for Sonny. She has to focus on earning money for college-so that means no sketches, no boys, and no fun this summer. It's work, work, work. Well, it's a good thing she already has a summer job-not to mention, it's her summer _dream_ job too. Easy enough, right? Wrong.

What happens when her summer dream job isn't what it seems? What happens when it actually turns out to be a summer _nightmare_ job? How will she ever get through this job and earn enough money for college? Well, she'll just have to work really, really hard. Then for sure she'll be able to earn enough money, right? Wrong.

Not when her job includes being surrounded by cute-no I mean, _really_ cute-guys who seem to pop out every second wherever Sonny's around. How do you expect someone to work hard and concentrate with all those guys around? How can you _not_ get distracted by them? Speaking of distractions, her coworker seems to be the biggest distraction of them all. He's amazingly cute, nice, funny, and smart-basically perfect! Best of all, he works next to Sonny all summer long everyday! It's a dream come true, right? Wrong.

It would be a dream come true…IF Chad didn't work at the same place Sonny did. Worst of all, he works close by to her as the job's General Manager. How the heck did he get that job? Now, not only is he going to be by her side annoying her everyday, but he also gets _permission_ to do so! It seems like every time Sonny might be having a little bit of fun, Chad pops up and ruins it. He bosses her around like he's got nothing better to do, and annoys her to death. Ignoring him won't work. Fighting back doesn't work either. Ugh! Chad is so frustrating! Sonny absolutely hates him, right? Wrong.

No matter how much Sonny thinks she hates him, she also can't stay away from him either. How is she ever going to earn enough money with all these distractions? Well, one thing's for sure. This was going to be one tough summer.

* * *

_A/N: Well, what'd you think? I, personally, am actually exci__ted to start writing this story. If you're wondering where I got the title from, it's from the song, "Summer Fades to Fall" by Faber Drive. It's an awesome song, listen to it sometime. Anyways, review please!_


	2. Cooper? Hello?

_A/N: Chapter 1 people! Thank you for those of you who have _already_ reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story, and it was just the prologue! Oh, and for those of you who read JOOLLG, you'd know I like to get ideas from you guys to let you know that I actually do read your reviews and greatly appreciate them. So if you have an idea, please feel free to tell me-and don't worry I'll credit you-and I might squeeze it in the story. So I hope you like it._

_Disclaimer: First chapter of the story; first disclaimer. Or is it second, if you count the prologue? The point is, I don't own Sonny With a Chance, and probably never will. You'll be getting these a lot throughout the chapters. And, as much as you'll get tired of reading them, you won't get as tired as I will writing them. And this is by the way the longest disclaimer I've ever written. Just thought you should know that.

* * *

_

1. …Cooper? Hello?

**SPOV:**

I was feeling really bummed right now-a feeling you're never supposed to get in the summer. I mean, come on, people. It's summer! You're supposed to have a good time, and have fun. Well, I'm wasn't having a good time, and I definitely wasn't having fun. I was really excited to film our special summer episodes this year-being it my first year and all in So Random-but they got cancelled. Do you want to know why?

Because the _producers_ and _directors_ of So Random said they had to "take care of some stuff"! They said summer was the busiest time of the year for them, so they couldn't be there for our show. And without them, we can't do the show, so we were forced to take a break this summer from filming. Sure, for people who are filthy rich, and have no problem getting into college. But for someone like me, I needed money to get into a good school, and get good education. Without my So Random job, how am I supposed to earn money for college? I mean, you'd think it's just one summer, right? Two months is no big deal! But it was for me. I had just started working at So Random, which means I didn't get that much money yet. So if I took a break now, I won't have enough money by the time I'm off to college. There's not enough time to take a break. I'm headed to college in two more years! Do you have any idea how expensive it is?

That's why I was planning to work really hard in So Random this summer and not take any breaks. Unfortunately, the producers and directors didn't want that-or they said, the _couldn't_. They said they were "too busy", and had an "important business trip" this summer. Please. That's just another term for "too lazy to work in the summer, so just go away".

Luckily, I have the perfect solution. I just had to get myself a summer job. Now, you're probably thinking, where the heck am I supposed to get a job this late in the summer? Well, lucky for me, my dad's best friend just happened to be Bradley James Cooper. _The_ Bradley James Cooper. He owns the forever famous, and rich, James Inn. The inn had several different locations around the world. It was a classy, elegant, and _very_ cool inn. My dad talked to Mr. Bradley James, and he agreed to give me a job at the inn closest to my home for the summer.

I was going to be working there as a lifeguard, and a swim instructor. It was the perfect job. All I had to do there was sit around in the lifeguard chair and look for drowning people (which is unlikely). And if I ever get hot, I could just slip into the water to cool myself off. The only real work I had to do was teach the kids how to swim, but I wasn't worried about that. I was very good with kids. Either that, or rescue someone if they're drowning (which again, is unlikely).

Plus, it's an inn, so it has what most inns have-restaurants, swimming pools, hot tubs, and so on. Except _this_ inn was Bradley James' inn. Which means that the inn has to be up to Mr. Cooper's standards. So instead of just having the normal restaurants and swimming pools, this inn has an all-you-can-eat buffet. The pool is ten times bigger than pools in normal inns and hotels. There's also an indoor water park there too-complete with waterslides and water rides. There's also a ball room where they hold the special events and performances every night. I heard sometimes some celebrities come and sing there. And I'm am so excited for this, because whenever I'm on my break, I could just go inside and enjoy the perks this five-star inn has. I mean, I don't think it is even an inn. It's like a hotel! So it's pretty much an easy job to do, _and_ it pays a lot. And I mean, a _lot_. So I'll be getting paid big money, for doing nothing at all, really. _Plus_ I could enjoy all the things a guest could enjoy in the inn/hotel. How awesome is that?

I couldn't wait to get started. I finished packing quickly because I was just too excited to start. I ran downstairs as fast as I could with a heavy luggage in my hands. The employees have their own rooms to stay in at the inn, and we get free breakfast, lunch and dinner while we're there. Can you say the best job ever?

I dragged my luggage into the living room, and set it near the entrance of the house. My dad was on the couch; his eyes glued to a book he was reading. I flopped down beside him, and he looked up from the book and smiled.

"Hey dad," I said.

"Hi, Ali," he said, putting a bookmark on the page. I think my dad was the only person that calls me "Ali" instead of "Sonny" like everyone else does. Probably because he was the one who gave me the name in the first place, and adores it so much. "Are you nervous about your first job?"

"Dad, it's my second," I corrected him.

"Oh, you know what I mean," he said, waving it off. "Are you?"

"A little," I admitted. "But I'm also really excited. I mean, it's not everyday I get like the coolest job ever!"

My dad chuckled. "Well, I hope you have fun then."

"I will. But it's because of you, dad," I told him, smiling. "Thank you for asking Mr. Cooper to do this."

"It's no big deal. The ol' Bradster and I go way back," he shook his head, smiling. "Oh, good times, good times."

I giggled and reached up to give him a hug, and said thank you one more time. Then I stood up, grabbed my luggage, and headed to the front door. I turned the lock on the door, and as soon as my mom heard the click, she came running up to me. She started tackling me with one of her big, super mom hugs and kisses.

"Mom," I muttered, blushing. "Stop it."

My mom pulled back and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sonny. I'm just going to miss you _so_ much." Then she pulled me back for another bone crushing hug.

"Mo-om!" I whined, and she pulled back again, but not before giving me a kiss on the cheek. "It's just for the summer." I opened the door and stepped outside before she can hug me again. I dragged my luggage down the steps of my new house. We used to live in an apartment, but we moved into a house because it was closer to the studio.

My dad got up from the couch and leaned against the door, giving me a little wave. I waved back at him and my mom as I put the luggage into the trunk of my black Chevy _(picture on my profile)_. I made my way to the front of the car, and hopped in. I rolled down the window to give my parents another wave. "Bye mom! Bye dad!"

They waved back at me, and I think they said bye back. I didn't hear because I had already sped off the driveway.

Once I reached the inn, I had a hard time controlling my excitement. Everything looked so cool, and I just couldn't wait to get in and…_do_ everything. But I had to sign in, and unpack first. I grabbed my luggage out of the trunk, and dragged it to the main entrance. A girl with red curly hair, pale skin, and green eyes was sitting in the front desk. She had on the employee blue uniform we were required to wear, and looked about my age, but no doubt much prettier than me.

I approached her with a huge smile on my face. "Hi!" I said. The girl looked up from typing and smiled brightly.

"Hi! Welcome to James Inn," she said professionally. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just here to check in. I'm an employee here," I informed her, still smiling.

The girl's face fell, and she dropped her smile. "Oh. Well, what do you want?" she said in a harsh tone. Talk about change of attitude. My smile faltered a bit, but I still kept talking politely. I mean, if she was going to be my coworker, I don't want any enemies on my first day here, right?

"Um, well, I just wanted to know where the employees stay," I saw the girl roll her eyes, and type something in the computer. I decided to try and get on her good side, so I started making conversation with her. "So, uh, I'm Sonny. What's your name?"

"Doesn't matter," she snapped. "What's your name?" Has she completely ignored me when I just told her that two seconds ago? But I didn't say that.

"Sonny," I repeated, still polite.

"Full name," she said curtly.

"Sonny Munroe."

The girl began typing again and I leaned in the counter to get a better look. She quickly covered the screen and glared at me. "What are you doing? This is for employee's only." Wow. Was this girl deaf, or was she doing this on purpose?

"I am an employee," I said, trying to keep my voice as polite as possible. "I just told you that."

"Yeah, well, I just checked your name. And it's not here," she sneered. "Too bad. Next!"

"Oh, uh, can you check again? This time, search for Alison Munroe?" I asked.

The girl rolled her eyes, but began typing again. A few seconds later, I saw her face fall, and she scowled at the computer screen. She opened a drawer in the desk, and began to dig for something. She grudgingly handed me the key card for my room.

"Room eighty-one," she said bitterly. "In the Cooper Employee Building."

"Right. Thanks!" I said cheerfully, taking the card. I was just about to leave, when I realized that I didn't know where the Cooper Employee Building was. I turned back to the girl. "Um…where is the Cooper Employee Building?"

The girl rolled her eyes again. "Ugh. What kind of employee are you? Don't you read the manual?"

"There was a manual?" I asked, curious. The girl rolled her eyes again.

"Yes. Everyone who was hired got it in their job interview. So you should've gotten it." She peered at me, and narrowed her eyes. "That is, _if_ you were even hired."

"Of course I was. It's just that I never had a job interview," I explained, "Mr. Cooper hired me personally because my dad is good friends with him." Okay. So I was bragging a little, but it wasn't that I was lying or anything.

The girl scoffed. "Right. Whatever. Here's an extra manual." She took out a small booklet and tossed it at me. I caught it, and nodded, saying my thanks. Then I dragged my luggage out of the lobby as I heard the girl serve the next person in line.

"Hi! Welcome to James Inn," she said. "How may I help you?" Talk about change of attitude. I'm guessing she wasn't a person they would choose to be on the welcoming committee for new employees. I shook the thought away, and proceeded to find the Cooper Employee Building.

I knew I would have to be sharing a room with someone, and I could only hope she wasn't a freak or anything. Or worse, what if she was as mean as the girl in the front desk? What if everyone was here?

I finally found room eighty-one, and slipped my card in the slide. The door clicked open, and I swung it open. As I stepped inside, I gasped. The room was so cool! The walls were painted a tan sort of color, and the carpet was tan color with some sort of design. There was a set of stairs on my right that led to a little loft, where the beds were. In front of the beds was a fridge. Underneath the loft, was a flat screen TV, and in front of it, lies two pink beanbag chairs. On one side of the TV was a computer desk. On the other side were two washing machines to wash our clothes. Beside the two washing machines was the bathroom, although it was locked, so I'm guessing my roommate must be in there. There's a window right beside the door, and a sofa underneath it. I went up the stairs of the loft and saw a window right beside the farthest bed. I didn't see it when I first came in, because the wall was blocking it, but now that I'm on top of the loft, I saw that there was a door there that led to the balcony. _(picture on my profile)_

The bed closest to the window had a bag on top of it, and clothes lying around everywhere. I guess that meant my roommate was here. I didn't mind that she had gotten the bed closest to the window. I was never a window person anyways. I set my luggage on top of the other bed beside it, and started unpacking. Suddenly, the bathroom door clicked open, and out came my roomie. Since the bathroom was below the loft, we couldn't see each other, until she had walked over to the couch.

She had shoulder-length, curly, black hair with side bangs. She was very small and petite, but I wouldn't say she's short either. She had light brown eyes, and pale skin. She made her way to the bottom of the stairs, and I guess she didn't realize I had come in, because when she saw me, she jumped up in surprise.

"Woah!" she exclaimed, stepping back down a step. "You scared me. I didn't even here the door open."

I laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. Sorry."

The girl shrugged and started climbing the stairs again. "Whatever. I guess you're my new roommate."

"Yeah, I guess I am," I said, walking towards her and extending a hand. "I'm Sonny."

"Alex," she said, shaking my hand. _(lol, yeah, I created a character based on Alex Russo from WOWP. But they just looked so good together-as friends-so yeah. But she won't have the exact same personality.)_ "Is this your first time here? This is my second year."

"Yep," I said. "I was kind of forced to take this job, because the producers of my show had to 'take care of some stuff' and was 'too busy' this summer." I rolled my eyes at the memory.

Alex started to nod, but then her eyes widened. "Hey! I just realized this. You're Sonny Munroe!" I blushed.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so," I said uncomfortably.

"Oh man, you are hilarious. I love the Baby Waa Waa sketch the best," Alex said, laughing. I joined in with her.

"Thanks. I've always loved comedy." I told her.

"I can tell," she smiled. I was so glad that she wasn't as mean as the girl in the front desk. Speaking of which…

"Hey, what's with the red-haired girl at the front desk?" I asked Alex.

"Who? Chelsea?" Alex made a face. "Ugh. Two words. Evil witch."

I laughed. "Yeah, I found out. As soon as I told her I was an employee, she completely changed her attitude."

"Yep, that's Chelsea alright," Alex nodded. "She hates all girl employees."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, because she doesn't want us to ruin her chances of getting Chad." Alex rolled her eyes. I furrowed my brows.

"Who's Chad?" I asked. Alex's eyes widened.

"You don't know Chad Dylan Cooper?" she exclaimed.

"Oh. _That_ Chad. But where does he fit in all of this?"

"Well, he usually comes to visit with his dad, but this summer I hear he's going to be working with us. Chelsea has a huge crush on him, and she'll do anything to be his." Alex rolled her eyes again. "Right. Like that'll happen."

"Wait a minute. Chad? Working? Here?" I asked, suddenly dreading this summer.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. It's his hotel. Well, not _his_, but his dad's."

My eyes widened. "Bradley James Cooper is _Chad_'s father?"

Alex looked at me strangely. "Uh, yeah…Cooper? Hello?"

I felt like such an idiot. Why didn't I realize this before? Because I thought that maybe there are a million different Cooper's, and that there's no way they could be related? I can't believe this. In all the years my dad is friends with Mr. Bradley, I hadn't realized Chad and him were related. How stupid was that? Even worse, I've been to Chad's house a million times with my dad visiting Mr. Bradley, but I have never once knew it was Chad's house. I never saw him in all of my visits there.

Well, now that I knew, I was definitely dreading seeing him. But maybe I won't have to see him. Maybe he won't be working near me. Maybe I'll get lucky. I'm seriously hoping I won't work beside him.

"Hey Alex," I said. "Where is he going to be working?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. I don't even know if he's going to even be working here for sure."

My eyes lit up. "You mean there's a chance he won't be here?"

"Uh…yeah…" she paused and raised an eyebrow at me. "Why are you so happy?"

"Well, I hate him," I said, crossing my arms.

"Why?"

"We have this rivalry thing between our two shows," I explained. "He thinks he's a better actor than us, and he makes sure we know it. He's an arrogant, and inconsiderate jerk."

"Wow," Alex said. "But he seems so cool and nice on TV."

I scoffed. "Yeah, on _TV_. Not in real life. You'll see. If he does work here-which I really hope he won't-I'll introduce you to the jerk he really is."

Alex laughed. "Okay, then. I'll keep that in mind. So where are you going to be working?"

"I'm a lifeguard and a swim instructor," I told her. "Any advice for first-timers?"

"Umm…just make sure you don't get on Mr. Holman's bad side," Alex warned.

"Who's Mr. Holman?" I asked.

"He's Chelsea's father, and also the manager of this hotel. If you disappoint him, he'll find some way to report you to Mr. Cooper, and you'll get fired for sure. That's where Chelsea gets her personality from. Like father, like daughter." Alex shook her head and made a face again.

"I see. But how hard can it be?" I asked.

"Harder than you can ever imagine. This hotel is like, the best in the world," Alex said. "'We can't afford slip-ups!' as Mr. Holman would say." Alex started to deepen her voice and mocked Mr. Holman.

I laughed. "Okay, thanks. How about you? Where are you working?"

"I'm in the hotel gift shop. Air condition, baby!" she said, pumping her fist in the air. I laughed again. I looked around the room, still in awe.

"This is like, the coolest room ever! It's like we're one of the guests!" I said.

Alex shook her head. "Nuh-huh. The guest rooms are much, _much_ bigger."

"I can't imagine," I muttered. How much bigger could they get?

"It's true. Even the rooms with two beds are bigger than this," she told me. "Last year, my sister Claire worked here, and we snuck into one of the rooms. They had their own kitchen! It was awesome. I shared the room with her last year, but she's in college this year so I was really worried about my roommate. I'm so glad you're not a freak!"

I laughed. "Thanks. I try hard everyday to not be a freak."

Alex laughed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, I was just teasing." I smiled at her. "That's why I'm here. I need to start saving up money for college now."

"I understand," Alex said, nodding. "My sister was here last year because of that."

"Well, apparently it worked, because she's in college now, right?" I said. Alex nodded.

"Hey," Alex said suddenly, starting to stand up from the bed we were sitting on. "When you're done unpacking, want me to give you a tour of the place? We still have time before the meeting."

"What meeting?" Was this in the manual too? I wondered why Mr. Cooper didn't give me a manual like the rest. Well, maybe it's because at the time he offered me the job, we were at the beach, and I don't think he'll be carrying around manuals.

"Every year in the beginning of the summer, they always hire new people. So they always have a meeting talking about the rules, what to do, and so on. They expect everyone to attend, just in case the ones who have been here before, forgot. Although some people work here all year round-but their mostly college students or adults. The teens that work here come in the summer when school is done." I could tell that Alex loved to talk. But I liked her a lot, and I'm pretty sure we'll be great friends.

"Oh, I see. What time is the meeting?" I asked.

"In about an hour," she said, checking her watch. "That should be enough time to go around."

"Okay, sure," I said, coming to my feet. "Just let me finish unpacking first." I quickly unpacked, putting all my clothes and stuff in the drawers provided, and stuffed my luggage underneath my bed. Then I grabbed my black jacket, and followed Alex outside.

* * *


	3. Stupid Chad

_A/N: I decided to be nice, and give you guys two chapters in one day, not to mention, the final chapter of JOOLLG, for those of you who's read it. So there you go. Three chapters in one day to make up for the suspense thing I built up (hopefully) in the last three chapters of JOOLLG. So I hope you're happy. Actually, I hope you like it._

_Disclaimer: Told you you'll be seeing a lot of these. I don't think this one will be as long as the other. I'll just come out and say it: I don't own Sonny With a Chance. There. Was that so hard? Did I really need to write so much stuff for a disclaimer? Uh, I think I'm doing it again. Moving on…

* * *

_

2. Stupid Chad

**SPOV:**

"You're late, girls," a man with brown hair said, eyeing us. I'm guessing this was the Mr. Holman, Alex was talking about. He looked the same like Chelsea-with the exception of the hair. And he was actually pretty good looking, if you look past the scary frown.

After Alex had shown me around, we decided to get some ice cream, thinking we still had some time to kill before the meeting. But the ice cream line was so long, and by the time we got our ice creams, we had just five minutes until the meeting-which is all the way on the other side of the campus. So we ran with our dripping ice creams in our hands, and here we are. Late.

"Sorry, Mr. Holman," Alex panted. "We lost track of time getting ice cream."

"Uh-huh. I see that," he said, eyeing the melted ice cream in our hands. "I don't want this to happen again, understand?"

"Yes, sir," we said in unison.

"Hurry up and take a seat. I'm not starting again," His forehead creased, and he went back to the lecture he had going on before we interrupted him. Alex and I made our way across the room with our heads hung low, trying to avoid as much attention as possible, and sat down in our seats.

"As I was saying," Mr. Holman said, narrowing his eyes at us. "Welcome to a brand new year. Or summer for some of you who don't work here all year round. Now, even though this hotel may seem like it's all fun and games, it's not. This hotel is for the _guests_, and not the employees. So that means, no lounging around in the swimming pools, arcade, any of that stuff unless you are supposed to be there. These are for guests only. Is that clear?" We all murmured a "yes", but I stayed quiet. That's not fair. Does that mean we can't use any of the perks I was so looking forward to? I raised my hand slowly, and Mr. Holman called on me.

"Um, does that include the water park?" I asked timidly

"Yes. I thought I just stated that," he said icily. "Listening, Ms. Munroe."

I blushed, and nodded, sinking down in my seat. By then, everyone in the room whipped their heads to face me, with the exception of Alex, Mr. Holman, and Chelsea. She must've known about me when I was signing in. I heard someone in the crowd whisper, "I didn't even realize she was Sonny Munroe!" and another, "Oh my gosh. _Sonny Munroe_ is here? Working with us?" and another, "We have _two_ celebrities now for the summer! How cool is that?" I sunk down lower in my seat, not really liking all of the attention.

I caught Chelsea's eye, and she was glaring at me. Why did she hate me so much? She didn't even know me. I looked at Alex for help, and she raised her hand. What was she doing?

"Yes, Alex?" Mr. Holman called on her.

"I'm sorry, but please continue, Mr. Holman," Alex said, in a super sweet voice. "_We_-" she was referring to the entire room, "-are very sorry for interrupting you. Right, guys?" she called over her shoulder and the entire room quieted down. They mumbled "Right", and Alex smiled smugly. Amazing. She can quiet down an entire room of teenagers-some even older than her, just by saying one sentence.

"Thank you, Alex," Mr. Holman said. "But you know how I hate suck-ups."

"I'm not sucking up," Alex defended herself. "I just want to hear the rules again. I'd forgotten since last year."

"Right." Mr. Holman looked like he didn't believe her, but he left the subject and moved on. Instantly, everyone left the topic of me, and focused on Mr. Holman's lecture. They all turned back to him, and stopped staring at me too. I sighed in relief, and looked at Alex. She winked at me, and I mouthed, "thank you" to her. She shrugged, and turned her attention to Mr. Holman.

"Curfew is at ten, and you must be in your rooms by then. No one is allowed in your rooms except for your roommates after that. If I catch someone there who's not supposed to be there, there'll be serious consequences. Breakfast is served from six to nine-thirty, lunch is served from eleven-thirty to two, and dinner is served from six to eight. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served downstairs in the dining room at the Cooper Employee Building. You can only eat a full meal in the times provided; we won't serve you anything if you miss the time breakfast, lunch or dinner is served. If you get hungry in between, you can always go to the room for snacks.

"You have to do everything you can for the guests. Smile, and treat them with respect. Offer them samples of stuff if you have to. I wouldn't say the customer's always right; I would just say that they're right at everything that isn't in your employee manual. Okay? That way, we don't end up losing money. Always help them as much as you can, and never, ever scream or insult them. We want them to come again, and we want to make friends with them so they will. But don't get _too_ close with one guest. Remember not to single anyone out. Even if it is your parents, treat them as you would to any other guest. No discounts just because you know them. We can't afford slip-ups. Understand?" We all nodded, and I tried to keep from laughing at how similar Alex's imitation of Mr. Holman was today.

"Everything else you need to know is in the manual. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me. It's better you know now than after you mess up. Any questions?" No one raised their hands. "Okay. Who doesn't have an employee manual?"

I raised my hand slowly. Mr. Holman narrowed his eyes, and tossed me a blue book entitled, "James Inn Employee Manual". I caught it, and thanked him.

"You're not having a very good start, Ms. Munroe," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. "First you come running in late with ice cream dripping all over the carpet, and now you lost your manual?" I heard Chelsea snort from behind me, and mutter, "Which is why she couldn't find her way to the Employee Building today." Alex turned and glared at her, but I ignored her.

"I didn't lose my manual. I didn't even have one in the first place," I explained to Mr. Holman.

"Every employee that was hired got a manual. So unless you were never hired, you should've gotten a manual. I don't like it when people lie and make up excuses, Ms, Munroe. Don't let it happen again," Mr. Holman said in a warning tone.

"That's what I said, daddy!" Chelsea said, standing up to back up her dad. "But she said it was because she never got an interview. She said her dad was _best friends_ with Mr. Cooper himself." Chelsea sneered at me. Mr. Holman scoffed.

"I can see that we're off to a very rough start, here, Ms. Munroe," he said, obviously believing his daughter. "Now unless you decide to tell the truth and admit you lost your manual-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because at that time, Chad walked into the room. He had a pout on his face, and Mr. Holman immediately stopped talking and looked at Chad. Everyone glanced in the direction he was looking at, and was immediately quiet too. Even Alex was lost in a trance, and didn't say anything. Okay, what is wrong with these people?

"What are you all staring at?" I asked bluntly when everyone was quiet. "It's just Chad." As soon as the words left my mouth, everyone gasped, and turned to look at me. Great. I'm back in the spotlight. I sunk down in my seat again and blushed.

"Sonny?" Chad cried, after he saw me. Everyone turned their attention back to him. Chelsea walked to Chad and made a face.

"You _know_ her?" she said, as if it wasn't possible we would know each other.

"What? Yeah, she's my coworker," he mumbled quickly before shoving past her, and walking towards me. "Please tell me you're not working here."

"I could say the same for you," I said, making a face.

"Uh, I have a right to be here? James Inn belongs to my dad, Bradley James Cooper," he bragged. I rolled my eyes.

"No!" I said, feigning shock. "I would've never guessed that your dad, who happens to have three names like you-including the same last name, would be related to you. I'm not stupid, Chad." Even though I didn't realize it until _after_ Alex told me earlier today. "And yes, I'm working here. But I didn't know _you_ would be here. Had I known, I would've never accepted the job."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'accepted the job'? Who would offer _you_ a job?" Chad made another face. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Your dad offered me a job." I stated simply.

Chad looked shocked. "My dad never offers anyone he doesn't know a job."

"And that's why I _do_ know her, Chad." We all turned around to see Mr. Bradley James Cooper standing in the doorway, smiling. He walked towards me and smiled. "Good to see you again, Sonny."

I blushed, knowing everyone was looking at me. This has got to be the most blushing I've ever done in one day. "You too, Uncle James." My dad and him have been friends even before I was born. So when I was little, I used to call him "Uncle James" because I could never say "Mr. Cooper". And as I grew up, the name just stuck.

He chuckled and turned to Chad. "This is ol' Paulie's daughter, Chad."

Chad's eyes widened and he gaped at me. "_You_? You're the daughter my dad's been talking about all this time?"

"You two know each other?" Uncle James looked at me and Chad back and forth.

"Yes, dad," Chad said. "She's a _Random_."

"Ah. So that's how," he said, nodding.

"Dad. How come you never told me your best friend's daughter was _her_?" Chad glared at me, and I glared right back at him.

"Well, you never asked, son," Uncle James shrugged. "What's the big deal anyways? Now you know. Now everyone knows actually-" He looked around the room, and sure enough, everyone was listening intently to our conversation. He chuckled and continued, "-the point is, I offered Sonny a job to be the lifeguard and swim instructor for our outdoor pool because her dad and I go way back. But yes, I realized I didn't give you a manual. So she didn't lose it or anything. Does that clear everything up? I'm sorry, Sonny for all of this."

I blushed again because of all of the attention I was getting. I mean, seriously, is this "Make Sonny Blush Day"? I nodded. "I-It's okay."

Uncle James chuckled, and patted me on the back before going up to the front of the room to talk to everyone. "So, I'm sorry once again for the misunderstanding. And I would also like to welcome all of you, and thank you for coming out here for the summer. I know you won't let me down. And I'd like to announce that my son will be working here this year, because of personal reasons. He will be helping Ross-er, Mr. Holman-as co-manager, and will tell me if anything goes wrong. So if you have any questions, please ask Chad, Mr. Holman, or me. But I'm usually not around. So just ask them, okay? Have a fun summer everyone!" Then with one more pat on the back for Chad, and a wink and smile for me, Uncle James left the room.

We were all quiet for a few minutes until Chad started talking. "So I guess I'm the boss of you, then Sonny," he said to me, smirking.

I looked at him in surprise. "What?"

His smirk grew wider. "You heard my dad-or should I say, _Uncle James_. He said I'm co-manager, which means, I can officially boss you around."

I rolled my eyes and grunted in response.

"Oh, you should've brought the rest of the Randoms so I can boss them around too," Chad said, chuckling to himself.

"Tawni's on vacation, Nico and Grady are in summer school, and Zora…who knows where the girl is right now. Probably in an air vent. So unfortunately, I'm the only one you get to bother," I grumbled unhappily. The room gasped as I said my cast mates' names. What was with them and gasping? I mean, we're just people…who happen to work in a TV show. Big whoop.

"Good," Chad said, grinning widely. "You'll be the most fun to bother anyways." He clicked his tongue at me, and headed for the door before I could say anything else. "Catch you later, Sonny."

I groaned and slumped down in my seat, not realizing I still have an audience. Everyone, including Mr. Holman and Chelsea, was staring at me. "Okay. What is everyone staring at?"

They all looked away one by one after that. Alex decided to take it upon herself to brag. "Soo…Mr. Holman…I think someone owes someone an apology…"

"Well nobody asked what you thought," he snapped. Then he turned to me with narrowed eyes. "And you, just because Mr. Bradley James Cooper himself offered you the job, it doesn't mean you'll be getting any special treatment."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I said.

"Are you making fun of me?" Mr. Holman assumed.

"No, sir," I said quickly. "I was just saying I understood what you meant, and that I would never do such thing."

"Humph," was all he said. Mr. Holman left the topic, and sent us all to prepare for our first day of work tomorrow. He also said that there would be a welcoming party this evening in the Cooper Party Room at six.

"It's so much fun," Alex gushed as we walked out of the meeting room. "I bet you there'll be a celebrity there to perform. We always go crazy and stuff because it's the beginning of the summer, and we're all so excited, right? Plus, it's a chance to mingle and get to know people if you're a newbie."

"I heard celebrities like Beyonce performed here," I squealed, jumping up and down a little on my feet.

"Yeah, she came last year," Alex said. "Claire and I snuck in to see her perform."

"Wait, so you weren't allowed to see the performance?" I asked incredulously.

Alex shook her head. "You heard Holman; 'This hotel is for the _guests_, and not the employees.'" I laughed at her perfect imitation of him.

"How do you _do_ that?" I wondered out loud.

"My sister worked here for three years, so she always came home imitating him. Then when I came here last year, I understood why she always imitated him, and I joined in. She's much better at it than I am, though," Alex rambled. By then we were back to our rooms, and were picking out an outfit to wear for tonight.

Alex came out of the bathroom wearing a green jacket with a belt around her waist, and a black camisole underneath, and dark jeans. She had tied her curly hair into a ponytail that rested on her shoulder. She walked up to the loft and spun around for me. _(picture on my profile)_

"Well, what do you think?" she said, and I laughed.

"Very nice," I nodded approvingly. "Now what should I wear?"

"Umm…" Alex peered inside my closet, and started picking out some stuff. "Okay…cute…nice…hmmm…oh! I got it!" She ran to her closet and started picking out some stuff. Then she got out my clothes, and shoved me the clothes, and led me to the bathroom. "Go change. Now."

I obeyed her instructions, and went into the bathroom to change. I smiled when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I looked…_pretty_. And it was just a change of clothes. I got out of the bathroom and went up the loft to where Alex was waiting. She gasped and smiled. She began circling me, until finally she nodded.

"I am _good_," she said, praising herself. I was wearing a red, v-neck, sleeveless top, with a black camisole underneath, and black skinny jeans. Alex had lent me her black cardigan to put over the red top. She also tossed me a pair of red high heels to match.

"Okay, now sit down," she said, ushering me to her bed. Alex started digging for something in her suitcase and pulled out a curler a few minutes later. I looked at her with wide eyes. "What? I made the mistake of not bringing this last year, and it was _torture_."

I laughed and shook my head while she started curling my hair. When she was done, she added a bit of black eyeliner and eye shadow to make my eyes pop. I had long eyelashes, so she didn't use mascara. Alex finished with my face by putting on a layer of light pink lip gloss.

"There." Alex took out a mirror and held it in front of my face. If I thought I looked pretty before, it was nothing compared to what I looked like now. My hair was in curly, little waves that flowed down my shoulders. Alex had swept my bangs to the side, so that now it was framing my face. My eyes were big and bold, and the pink lip gloss just completed the whole look.

"Wow," I breathed, unable to say anymore.

"I know," Alex said, agreeing. "I am _that_ good." I laughed and shook my head.

"Come on," I said, tugging her down the stairs. "I don't want to miss the party."

Alex followed me down the stairs of the loft, and we headed out the door to the party.

- OOO -

It was crazy. I mean, I've been to friends' parties, Hollywood parties, but it was nothing compared to this party. There was a break dancing competition, and everyone was gathered around there, cheering them on. Alex and I had danced like crazy to a couple of songs, and I was having tons of fun. Best of all, I haven't seen Chad at all since we came in. It was already halfway through the party, and I haven't seen him one bit. Maybe I'll get lucky, and he decided to skip this party and not come. But maybe I spoke too soon.

But just then, the door to the Cooper Party Room burst open, and in came the three-named jerk face himself. He pranced into the room, and made his way to the circle that was gathered, watching the people break dancing. The witch named Chelsea was right behind him. Great. Not only did he come, but he brought an ugly troll with him too.

I didn't really feel like seeing or talking to him, because we'll surely get into an argument in front of everyone-and I _so_ don't want that-so I left the crowd and went to the food table. There was so much choices that I ended up taking a little bit of each. I was just stuffing my mouth with this chocolate dessert when a guy in a suit came up to me.

"Hello," he said politely. I eyed him curiously, and nodded.

"Hello," I replied. But my mouth was full, so it came out as, "Hewoh."

The guy chuckled, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Ronald Adams."

"Sonny Munroe," I said, sticking out my hand. By then, I had swallowed all of my food, so I could talk clearly now.

"Oh I know. I've seen you on TV. You're hilarious!" he praised. I blushed, and smiled at him.

"Thank you," I said. "But I've never heard of you."

"Oh, I'm the editor of _Hotel Weekly_." Ronald took out a business card from his jacket pocket, and I took it, and stuffed it in mine. "So is this your first time here? I came last year, and I didn't see you here."

I nodded. "Yep. I was supposed to be working, but our producers had a business trip to go to, so I couldn't film. So my dad got me a job here."

"That's cool. How do you like it so far?" he asked.

"It's awesome!" I gushed, excited. "This is like, the coolest job ever. Well, next to So Random, of course. If they combined this job with So Random, it would be the ultimate job."

Ronald chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, that would be cool. Are you nervous about anything?"

"A little," I admitted. "I mean, it being my first time here and all."

"Right, but everyone's nice here, right?" Ronald asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, most are," I said, thinking of Chelsea and her father. Ronald's forehead creased.

"What do you mean _most_? Isn't everyone nice?" he asked.

"Well, my roommate is really nice, and we're already like the best of friends," I said, "But some people are not very friendly. And my roommate warned me about Mr. Holman."

"Wait, so who's Mr. Holman?" Ronald asked.

"He's the manager of this hotel," I answered.

"So is he one of the unfriendly people you said? And why did your roommate warn you about Mr. Holman?" Ronald asked, his forehead creasing again.

"Well, he's not unfriendly," I replied, feeling a little guilty for talking about Mr. Holman in a bad way when I barely even knew him. "My roommate just warned me to not get on his bad side. I can tell why she said that now, because this morning-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence, because suddenly a hand was covering my mouth. I looked up to see Chad standing beside me, with one hand around my mouth, and the other trying to keep me still because I was wiggling too much. I struggled to break free of his hold, but he was too strong. Eventually, I gave up and just let him do whatever to me.

He chuckled nervously to Ronald. "Uh, what she means is, Mr. Holman is very serious about his work, but he can be very nice if you get to know him. Other than that, I'm sure Sonny will get along with everyone once she adjusts to the situation here. I mean, it's only her first day, right?"

Ronald nodded and smiled at Chad. "Nice to see you again, Chad. You grew up since last time."

I could feel Chad stiffen, but he kept smiling at Ronald. "Yes, thank you, Ronald. You look the same to me."

Ronald chuckled, but there was something in his eyes. "Good. That means I haven't grown old."

Chad laughed along with him. "No, no. You could never be old." If you looked at these two from far away, you'll see think that they're having a friendly conversation. You know, two friends catching up. But if you paid close attention, you'll see that it's all just an act. There was an uneasy feeling in the air between them. I saw their smiles fading, and they just stared at each other for a minute.

Eventually, Ronald smiled again and checked his watch. "Well, it's getting late. I better go now. Nice to meet you, Sonny. Good to see you again, Chad." I nodded, and smiled back at him even though he probably didn't see because Chad's hand was still covering my mouth.

Chad nodded and smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. I could tell it was a forced smile. Ronald's smile wasn't natural either. Both smiles were forced. What is going on between them? After Ronald left, Chad dragged me to the corner of the room and finally removed his hand.

"What was that for?" I said angrily.

"Do you know who that was?" Chad asked, just as angry.

"Ronald Adams from _Hotel Weekly_," I answered. "So? He's the magazine editor. Big deal." Chad rolled his eyes.

"He's not _just_ the editor," he said harshly. "He's also a hotel critique. You tell him one bad thing about this hotel-like how unfriendly Mr. Holman is-he can write a three page review on it."

"Oh. No wonder he was asking so much questions," I mumbled.

"Yeah, you think?" Chad said, glaring at me. "It's a good thing I was there to stop your big mouth before you could say anything else."

"Hey! I didn't know he was a critique, okay?" I said, raising my voice a little.

"Oh, yeah. So that makes it okay to talk about people in general?" Chad countered. "I don't know why my dad hired you."

I glared at him and crossed my arms. "Look, the important thing is, the guy didn't get any juicy scoops on this hotel. So we're safe." Chad scoffed.

"Barely," he muttered. "And the only reason he didn't hear anything is because I stopped you just in time."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Chad. You're a real hero."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Just try and keep your big mouth shut, and stay away from adults for the rest of the night."

"Gosh, you're making such a big deal out of this," I grumbled. "This is my first time. How was I supposed to know the guy was a critique?"

"Just try and behave for the rest of the night, Sonny." Chad started to push past me, and back to the crowd. "I don't have time to check up on you and be by your side every second."

"No one's asking you too!" I shot back, almost yelling.

"Real mature," Chad had already turned to leave, but he stopped and said one more thing to me. "Oh, and stop eating so much of the food. You're not the only guest here, you know."

I scowled at him, but he had already left. Stupid Chad and his higher ranking status that prevents me from doing anything to him. Stupid Chad and his attitude that thinks he's so much better than me. Stupid, stupid Chad.

I'll show him. I'll prove him wrong, and show him that I deserve this job. I'll be the best employee they've ever hired. Then I can rub it in his face when he sees how good I am, and how much money I've earned.

I went to the refreshment table and started eating more of the food just to get him mad. He saw me from the dance floor and glared at me. I smirked and stuffed more food in my mouth rubbing it in. He started walking towards me-probably to tell me to stop eating all the food-so I stuffed in more quickly.

"Ha, Chaf!" I said with my mouth full. I thought he would glare at me, and insult me, but he looked kind of amused, and he was smirking.

"Uh, Sonny," he said, a smile playing on his lips. "You just ate a whole plate of spicy red peppers."

My eyes widened as I started to taste the hot feeling on my tongue. My eyes started to water, and I spat the food on the floor. I quickly grabbed a drink of water and gulped it down. I started panting as I got a napkin and wiped my tongue with it.

Chad stared down at the food I had just spat out on the floor. "Wo-ow…" was all he said. I glared at him, my eyes still watering. He raised his arm and called to someone in the kitchen. "Yeah, can I get someone to clean this up?" A guy in a chef's uniform came out and started wiping the mess I made.

"I am so sorry," I said to him after I could talk clearly again.

"Yeah, she is," Chad said. "But maybe she wants another plate, since she seems to love red peppers _so_ much. How about it, Sonny? Do you want another plate? Pierre here could get it for you." Everyone was watching, and they laughed. The chef smirked too. I blushed, and glared at Chad.

"No. Thank. You." I said, with my teeth clenched. Chad smirked and laughed.

"Are you sure? 'Cause we'd love to see that again," he said, pointing to the food I spat out on the floor. Everyone laughed again. I blushed even more, which only made Chad smirk wider. I think I was going to die.

Thankfully, Alex came to my rescue. "Hey! Back off, pretty boy. She said she doesn't want anymore. Why don't you eat it since you seem to love it so much?"

Chad seemed shocked at her sudden outburst. But he gave her a strange look. "Uh, who are you, again?"

"Alex," she said, then smiled innocently, "Who are _you_?"

"You're kidding, right?" Chad asked incredulously. "You don't know who I am?"

I stepped in and defended Alex. "It's not that she doesn't know who you are, it's just that she doesn't _want _to know who you are."

Alex laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. Come on, Sonny. Let's go." She pulled my arm and dragged me out of there. Once we were safe outside, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Alex," I said. "I was dying."

She laughed. "No problem. I can see why you hate him now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the guy's a jerk," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"I told you," I sighed. "Well, it was actually really fun. Until I ate those peppers."

"Yeah…try not to do that again…" Alex patted my back and made a face. I laughed.

"Don't worry, I learned my lesson," I promised. "Besides, it was Chad's fault anyways. Stupid Chad."

* * *

_A/N: Well, there you go. Two chapters plus the final chapter of JOOLLG in one day. Hope that makes you guys happy!_


	4. It's Tradition, Sonny

_A/N: Chapter 3. I think I'm going to start dedications now for everyone who read my story. Because I don't really feel like typing so much names at the end again. So this chapter is dedicated to:_

**xocharleyfletcherxo, sonnycentral, Kerropiyvonne, Harryfan94, gallaghergirlwannabe, darkfaith500, klcthenerd, WhiteRose6136, Bhavana331, SparklingPC, Cat1030, percabeth97, smitchieaddict, n2cute4u, xxHeadInTheStarsxx, udita, timbermoonkiss, Squirrelflightlover, and carolinebaby23.**

_Haha, see? Not as much as last time. I think I'm doing that for each chapter now. So thank you all of you above, and if I missed your name sorry. And thank you for all the others who read my story, but didn't review, alerted, or favorited me (because if you do read it, but I don't know you do, I just want to say thanks). _

_And for the pool cleaner later on, there really is such thing-just look it up on google or something._

_Disclaimer: Ooh. So close to forgetting this! But you can't forget the disclaimer, now, can't you? No, unfortunately not. So yeah, I don't own Sonny With a Chance. Moving on…

* * *

_

3. It's Tradition, Sonny

**SPOV:**

Alex and I headed straight for our rooms after the party. We were so tired and we just wanted to go to sleep. I quickly changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts, and flopped down on my bed. I fell asleep instantly, as soon as my head hit the pillow. I needed to get a good night's rest tonight because it's my first day of work tomorrow. Since I work at the pool, I have to be there by seven to clean it before the guests come. The pool officially opens at eight.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good night's rest. Do you want to know why? Because in the middle of the night, I could feel someone lifting me off the bed, and carrying me outside. Oh. My. God. Am I being kidnapped? I didn't open my eyes, and just pretended to be asleep. I stirred around in the person's arms, and pretended to stretch, punching the person's face in the process.

That'll teach my kidnapper. Where's Alex? And how did this person get into our room anyways? The only people that have access to this room was me, Alex, and…

"Ow!" the voice cried after I punched him or her. The person immediately let go of me, and I was falling to the ground, until I felt another pair of arms holding me.

"Woah, watch it dude, you almost dropped her," a guy's voice said.

"Serves her right for punching me," Chad mumbled. Wait, _Chad_? So that's how he got into my room-he has access to all the rooms. But why was he here? I was suddenly lifted up again, and I could feel the guy passing me onto Chad's arms.

"Let's just hurry up and do this," Chad said, and I could feel us moving again. Where are they taking me? Finally, about fifteen minutes later, Chad stopped and lied me down on a chair.

"Okay, dude. Who's going to be this year's pool victim?" another guy's voice asked, and I could hear that he was excited. What the heck is a pool victim?

"Sonny," Chad said without hesitation.

"Why? Dude, she looks so nice," guy number one said.

"Yeah…wait 'till you get to know her…" Chad muttered. I wanted to kick him, but I didn't know where he was so I just stayed still. "Okay, let's hurry up before my dad catches us. Go get the water, Adam. Liam, Paul, Cole, go and help him."

I heard feet shuffling, and a few minutes later, grunts. There were more feet shuffling, and I guess the guys had returned.

"Ugh. Chad, man, this is heavy," guy number two said. "Why don't you ever help us carry the water buckets?"

"Why do you always complain?" Chad shot back.

"Because they're heavy!" guy number two whined.

"Well there you go." Chad stated. I heard him clap his hands. "Okay. Come on guys. Each of you get a bucket, and stand behind someone. Dean, you too. On my count, dump the water on top of their heads. Got it?"

"What are _you_ going to do, Chad?" guy number two asked.

"Adam, don't use that tone with me," Chad said, sounding like a parent.

"Well what _are_ you going to do?" guy number two, whose name happened to be Adam, asked again.

"I'm dumping Sonny in the pool," Chad said. He's _what_? So that's what "pool victim" means. Why are they getting everybody wet? And why did he has to choose me, out of all the people, to be the pool victim? Actually, I could see why he chose me.

Suddenly, I was being lifted into someone's arms-Chad, I think-and we were walking again. I can't believe this. I don't want to get wet! I can't struggle in Chad's arms, because that would only make him want to dump me in the water even more. It's not fair that I have to get wet, and he doesn't. Then I had an idea.

I wrapped my arms around his neck nonchalantly, trying to look like I was asleep while doing it. I felt Chad freeze, and we stopped walking.

"What's wrong, dude?" guy number one asked.

"Uh…n-nothing…" Chad stammered. I heard shuffling of feet, and another presence beside us.

"What's wrong, Chad?" guy number one whispered.

"Dean, look at her," Chad whispered back. "She has her arms around my neck. Do you think she's awake?"

"Nah," Dean assured him. "Probably thought you were her pillow or something."

I felt Chad nod, and start walking again. "Right. Thanks."

"Okay guys," Chad called back. "Ready? Three, two, one…!"

I felt him swing his arms back and forth, and I opened my eyes just in time to see Chad raising my above the water. When he was just letting go, I pulled his neck, and we both went underwater together. I came up laughing hysterically, and pulled myself out. Chad, however, came out sputtering, and waving his arms madly on the water.

"Help!" he squeaked, flapping his arms everywhere. He kept bobbing up and down the water, and spitting out water. "Help!"

I realized he can't swim, so I dove back in, and helped him to the wall. He scrambled out of the water, spitting in my face in the process. When he got on land, he started coughing, and panting.

"Are…you okay, Chad?" I bit my lip, trying to keep from laughing.

**CPOV: **_(happy, Charles? I decided to add this in =])_

"Okay guys," I called back. "Ready? Three, two, one…!" The guys dumped their water buckets on the person they were standing behind and started laughing hysterically. I swung my arms back and forth, and raised Sonny above the water. I was just letting go, when I felt a tug on my neck, causing me to lean forward and fall into the water with her.

We sunk underneath the cold pool water, and my body was in shock. The water was freezing, and I didn't plan on getting wet at all. I sputtered to the top of the water, and saw Sonny was already on land, laughing at me. I realized I can't swim, so I flapped my arms as fast as I could to keep afloat.

"Help!" I choked out. I kept bobbing up and down the water, and spluttering out water everywhere. "Help!" I swallowed some water, and started to cough. I had started to sink back down, when I felt Sonny's arms around me, and dragging me back to the wall. I scrambled out of the water, and started coughing like crazy. Sonny came out too, and sat down beside me.

"Are…you okay, Chad?" she bit her lip, and I could see she was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. What do you think, Sonny?" I snapped at her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Me?" she said, angry now. "You're the one who was about to dump in the water! I just returned the favor."

"You could've drowned me!" I yelled.

"How was I supposed to know you can't swim?" she shouted, but I could see she was trying hard not to laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Now you got me wet," I grumbled.

"You got me wet too. And everybody else…" she said, looking at the group of people that just got water dumped on them, and was shrieking angrily.

"It's tradition, Sonny. We always prank all the newbies," I told her.

"Then why is Alex here?" she pointed to the small dark-haired girl from the party.

"Yeah, Dean," Alex said to my best friend. "Why _am_ I here?" She glared at Dean, who was backing away from her. She stepped closer to him slowly.

"I forgot you weren't new," he chuckled nervously. Alex gave him a look.

"How could you forget? I worked near you all summer last year, you idiot!" she shrieked, and took off running after him. I laughed at them, but stopped when I saw Sonny narrowing her eyes at me.

I glared right back at her. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? Apologize," she stated. Was she serious? Like I'd ever apologize to anyone.

"Why?"

"Because you woke us all up in the middle of the night for a _prank_," Sonny made a face, before glaring at me again.

"We do it every year," I told her, annoyed. "It's no different this year. Well, actually, it is. It would've worked better if you didn't wake up at the last minute."

"Actually, I was awake when you came in my room," she said, laughing. "I'm not a deep sleeper, Chad. I can wake up at the slightest bit of noise or movement."

"So you mean to tell me you gave me this bruise on _purpose_?" I said, pointing to the bruise on my forehead. Sonny pressed her lips together, but let out a giggle.

"I-I thought…you w-were a k-kidnapper…" her voice was shaking because she was on the verge of laughing. "It looks good on you, though." Then she burst laughing, until she was on the ground clutching her sides.

I stared at her and raised my eyebrows. "Are you done?"

She took two deep breaths and sighed contently. "It's your fault for doing this prank in the first place."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"Oh my gosh! What happened to you?" I turned around to see Chelsea coming up to me with a concern look on her face. I glared at Sonny.

"Ask her."

Chelsea turned to Sonny and narrowed her eyes. "What did you do to him?"

"N-Nothing. I just pulled him into the pool with me," Sonny baffled. "I didn't know he couldn't swim."

Chelsea glared at her, but turned to me with a smile. "I'll get you a towel, Chad. Come on, you must be freezing."

"Not really," I said, but got up anyways. "Thanks, Chels. You're always there when I need you."

Chelsea smiled, and started dragging me to the change rooms to get a towel. I turned back to see Sonny breathing a sigh of relief. I chuckled at her. I think Chelsea intimidated her.

**SPOV:**

I let out a sigh of relief after Chelsea left with Chad. The girl scares the life out of me. Alex came back from chasing guy number two (Dean), and sighed exaggeratedly.

"Whew," she panted. "Let's go back now, Sonny. I'm tired."

"What did you do to him?" I asked curiously, while walking back with her.

"Stupid Dean," Alex rolled her eyes. "I've worked beside him all summer last year, and he thought I was a newbie. So I tied him to a surfboard." She shrugged like it was no big deal, and I looked at her with wide eyes.

"You what?"

"I tied him to a surfboard," she repeated.

I laughed. "And you just left him there?"

Alex shrugged again. "Eh, I'll untie him tomorrow. Let him sleep there for the night."

I laughed again and shook my head. We arrived at our suite, and Alex had called the bathroom first, so she went in and changed first while I laid out what clothes I'll change into. When she was done, I ducked into the bathroom to see my reflection. My hair was damp, and so were my clothes, and my cheeks were flushed pink from the freezing water.

It's a good thing my tank top was black; or else it would've been see-through when it got when. I quickly changed into a comfortable pair of sweats, and tied my wet hair. I was too lazy to dry it, so I went to sleep on the couch, not wanting to get my bed wet. I fell asleep instantly again, and hoped that no one would come and wake me up again. Thankfully, no one did.

- OOO -

The next morning I woke up, hearing a knock on my door. Alex was still snoring as loud as ever, so I opened it. It was Mr. Holman.

"Good morning, Mr. Holman," I smiled brightly at him. He ignored my greeting, and handed me two boxes with mine, and Alex's names printed on it.

"Here are your uniforms for today. You're due there at seven, remember that," he said curtly. Before I could respond, he stalked off to the direction he came from. I closed the door, and opened the box with my name on it.

There was a blue and white lifeguard vest, a blue sweater, a blue whistle, and a white cap. There was also a key card that allows me access to the pool. Surprisingly, it wasn't blue. I mean, really, this hotel is like, crazy for blue. Everything was blue.

I ducked into the bathroom to change into my swimsuit-that happens to be blue-and put on the lifeguard vest on top. When I came out of the bathroom, Alex was on the couch, watching TV. She had one hand resting on her head, and still looked sleepy.

"Morning!" I said brightly. Alex groaned.

"Ah, man! You're one of those morning people." She said groggily. I laughed.

"What time is your shift?" I asked her.

"In the afternoon," she answered, yawning.

"Then why did you wake up so early?" I asked her. Alex gave me a look.

"You're annoying alarm clock woke me up," she stated.

I chuckled nervously. "Oops. Sorry. I thought I needed it."

"What time is your shift?" she asked, propping up on one elbow.

"Seven. I'm leaving right now," I said as I slipped the sweater over my head.

"You mean I have to wake up to your alarm clock every morning?" she whined.

"Yep," I said, skipping to the door. "The early bird catches the worm, you know."

"Well, what if the bird doesn't want worms?" she grumbled, lying back down on the couch. I laughed and opened the door.

"Later, Alex."

My response was a muffled, "humph" because Alex stuffed her face into a pillow. I made my way around campus and tried hard to remember where the pool was. When I spotted the sign, I sighed in relief to know I wasn't lost.

I pushed open the wired fence that led to the outdoor swimming pool. It was so weird being alone in the morning-not that I minded. It was very peaceful and quiet, instead of the usual bustling of guests around here.

I got out the automatic pool cleaner-yes, this hotel has an automatic pool cleaner, how cool is that?-and dipped in the water and turned it on. The cleaner vibrated, and started sucking all of the dirty contents in the water. I circled around the pool with the cleaner, and only had to reach in a couple of times. This was a pretty easy job, actually. I could get used to this.

"Whoa!" a guy cried. I turned around to see guy number two standing behind me with a shock expression. "Sorry, I didn't realize anybody was here." I seem to be getting that a lot. Either people were really bad at hearing, or I was just that sneaky and quiet.

"It's okay. So do you work here too?" I asked him, turning off the cleaner.

"Yeah, I'm the head lifeguard," he answered, then stuck out a hand. "I'm Dean."

"Sonny," I said, shaking his hand.

"Hey, you're the girl that shoved my best friend into the pool yesterday!" he said, chuckling. "Great job. No one has ever done that to Chad before."

I smiled, and shrugged. "No big deal. If you ever need anyone to shove Chad into the pool again, I'm your girl."

Dean laughed. "I'll remember that, thanks." He ran his hand to his curly brown hair. He was actually pretty cute and good looking. Hard to believe someone like him would actually be _Chad_'s best friend.

"So I see you've cleaned the pool already," he said, nodding towards the cleaner in my hand. Dean frowned and looked at me seriously. "That's my job."

"O-Oh…I'm sorry, I-I…didn't…I-" I stammered.

Dean laughed. "I'm joking, Sonny. Actually, you made my job a whole lot easier."

"Oh," I said, feeling stupid. He took the cleaner from me and put it away.

"You can set up the towels. They're in that back closet over there," he said, pointing to the closet titled, "Supplies". I walked over to it, and opened the door. Inside, were shelves full of towels, brooms, floating devices, and whatnot. The towels were in their own separate baskets, and I took out a handful of them. I set them on a nearby table, and closed the closet door.

"What do I do with them?" I asked Dean, who was unlocking the change rooms.

"Oh, you just spread them out on the chairs," he said. "The guests usually like to have a towel nearby when their done swimming, you know, just in case they didn't bring any."

I looked around the pool to see white chairs already set up. I grabbed the handful of towels again, and set one on each chair one by one.

"Let me help," Dean said, coming over to take the towels from me.

"O-Oh. Okay, thanks," I said, blushing. We finished setting everything up, and Dean unlocked the front gate for the guests to come in. I still had fifteen minutes more before the pool officially opens, so I decided to get some breakfast. I just realized I didn't eat any in all my excitement to get here early. So I got up from the chair I was sitting on, and walked to the front gate.

"I'm going to get some breakfast before the pool opens," I called out to Dean.

"You didn't have breakfast, yet?" he asked, getting up from his chair.

"No, I forgot to get some," I answered. "I'm starved."

"Well, the Employee Building is like all the way on the other side," Dean pointed out. "You won't make it in time. And if you're late Mr. Holman will kill you with another one of his boring lectures. Just have mine." He walked over to his bag and took out a ham and cheese sandwich.

"Oh, no. That's yours," I said, shaking my head. "I couldn't."

He shrugged. "No big deal. We can half it." He split the sandwich in half, and held one out to me. I hesitated, so he said, "Come on, Sonny. It's fine. I'm not that hungry anyways. Take it."

So I reluctantly took it, and took a bite out of it. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"No big deal," Dean said, taking a bite of his. We ate there for a few minutes while making some conversation occasionally until it was time the pool opened. I threw out the plastic wrapper in the trash, and wiped my hands on my shorts.

"Thanks, Dean," I said again. "That was good."

He chuckled, and looked at me with a serious expression. But this time, I knew he was teasing. "You're not just saying that, are you? I mean, _I _made them after all."

I laughed. "Well, maybe it _did_ taste kind of weird."

"Oh, darn! I knew I shouldn't have put expired cheese in there," he joked. I laughed again as I took a seat in one of the lifeguard chairs. Dean took a seat beside me, and we waited for guests to arrive, making more conversation while we did.

"So it's your first year here, huh?" he asked me.

"Yep. I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for my dad," I told him.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that day in the meeting," he recalled, tilting his head up as if having a flashback moment. He shuddered. "Ooh. It was a scary day. You got on Holman's bad side-on your first day, too."

"Yeah, but it wasn't my fault," I grumbled. "He was the one who jumped to conclusions before knowing the whole story. Him and Chelsea."

"Ah, yes. The wicked witch of the west," Dean nodded. "I think you're the first person I heard-besides Chad and her family-who calls the witch by her real name behind her back. Don't worry, that'll change once you get to know her."

I laughed. "Actually, first impressions weren't that great with her either."

"Then why do you call her by her name?" Dean asked, confused.

"I don't like to call people names," I explained. "It's kind of mean."

"Ohh…so you're one of those good girls," Dean said. "But that'll still change once you've been around her long enough."

I shrugged. "We'll see."

"Wanna bet on it?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "If you don't call the witch any names by the end of the summer, I'll do anything you ask me to. But if you do, then you have to get me a date with…uh, someone…"

I peered at him and narrowed my eyes. "Oooh…who is she?" I wiggled my eyebrows like he did, and he shook his head.

"I'm not telling you. You'll just have to find out for yourself-_if_ you win the bet." Dean raised his eyebrows at me, and after contemplating it for a second, I smiled and shook his hand.

"You're on," I smiled mischievously at him, and he laughed. The front gate opened, and a crowd of people came bursting in. How did they all manage to come at the same time? They all dove into the pool, and some of them started running towards the pool.

I blew my whistle, and stood up on my lifeguard chair. "No running in the deck!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. The pool grew quiet. The kids that were running sulked and pouted, but obeyed and started walking. I sat back down and smiled proudly. Dean was looking at me in awe.

"How did you do that?" he asked. "I couldn't even get them to return their towels, let alone control the entire pool on my first day."

I shrugged. "I had to baby-sit my seven cousins, their golden retriever, _and_ clean the house in Wisconsin. So I pretty much learned how to control an entire room of people."

"Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it," Dean said, waving his hand motioning me to continue. "It makes my job a whole lot easier."

"You keep saying that," I noted. "It sounds like you didn't have any help last year."

"I didn't," he answered. "No one else wanted this job."

"Why?"

He smirked. "You'll see." I looked at him confusedly, but he just sat there smirking. So I turned my attention to the pool, keeping my eyes alert and looking for anyone who needs help. Everyone seemed to be okay, and just having fun in the pool. I didn't get what Dean was talking about. And then _they_ came.

Suddenly, a bunch of teenage boys about our age burst through the gates and started screaming and yelling while running towards the pool. One of them-a guy with sandy blonde hair-jumped into the deep end of the pool, yelling "Cannonball" while doing so.

I looked at Dean with wide eyes and found him smirking. "Let's see how you can handle _that_."

I swallowed nervously, and slowly went down my chair. I blew my whistle, and everyone turned to look at me, including the group of teenage boys. "Why are you guys screaming and yelling so loud?"

The boy with blonde hair smirked. "'Cause it's fun."

"Well stop it," I snapped. "You're disturbing the other guests, and you're showing the little kids a bad example."

"Geez, you sound like my mother," a dark haired boy beside the blonde remarked.

"Yeah, but she's hot," the blonde said, still smirking. He got out of the pool and started walking towards me. I took a few steps back, completely disgusted by this guy. "Well, that's nothing compared to the bad example I'm going to show them now." I heard snickers from his friends in the pool, and I took another step back.

"If you do that, I'll kick you out of the pool," I said, glaring at him.

"If I do what?" he said, stepping even closer. Ugh, this guy is disgusting.

I gagged in his face, and clutched my stomach. "Ohh…I don't feel so good…"

The blonde guy stopped walking and looked at me. "Are you okay…?"

"No…get away from me…" I said, gagging. His eyes widened, and he backed away slowly. I stood up straighter, and smiled. "Thanks. All better now."

His friends started cracking up, and the blonde glared at me. I smirked at him, and waved my fingers. He started walking towards me again, this time with an angry look on his face, and I held up my hand. "Stay away. I don't want to barf."

The guys in the pool were snickering hysterically now, which made the blonde guy even more mad. "Shut up!" he hissed at them. The dark haired boy stopped laughing, but he was still smiling.

"Aw, come on, Andrew," the dark haired boy said. "It's not our fault you don't have any _moves_," Then he turned to me, and winked. "If you want _moves_, I got some right here, princess."

Andrew rolled his eyes, and got back in the pool-this time, slipping in. I must've embarrassed him in front of his friends enough that he decided not to mess with me anymore. I smiled at the dark haired boy, and leaned down to him. He was still in the pool, so he had to look up at me.

"Really? You've got moves, huh?" I said in a flirty voice.

The guy smirked, and leaned closer to me. "Yeah, you wanna see them?"

I pushed the guy's forehead, making him tip back and fall into the water. I stood up then smiled innocently at him. "Is that one of them?"

Then I faced all of the boys, and crossed my arms. "If any of you enter the pool running around and screaming like retards again, you will be banned from this pool for the rest of your visit. Respect the other guests who are staying here, and doesn't want to see screaming half-naked boys. Understand?"

They all nodded like little first graders who just got scolded by their teacher. I smiled triumphantly as I went back to my seat. "There. I handled it." I said to Dean.

"Oh, no. That's just the beginning, Sonny," he said, nodding to more people coming in. "That's just the beginning…"

* * *


	5. Sonny, I Know He's A Devil

_A/N: Wow. For once, I have nothing to say except "Chapter 4, people!", and hope you like it. _

_Thank you to those of you who reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story (you know the drill. From now on, I'm just going to say thank you to those of you who read this story). And this chapter is dedicated to:_

**narnialove, percabethforever369, SWAC4Life, cleverkateroo,** _and to my anonymous reviewers_**, Chelsea 0** (I know you're not the "wicked witch of the west", lol)** and HumorMe 0,**

_And anyone else who reads this story. Thank you!_

_Disclaimer: Getting tired of this yet? I am. But…I still don't own Sonny With a Chance. Moving on…

* * *

_

4. Sonny, I Know He's A Devil

**SPOV:**

Dean was right. That was just the beginning. As soon as more people came in on this hot, California day, the teenage boys seemed like angels compared to the rest of them. The little kids wouldn't listen to us at all, and started flinging flutter boards at each other. The parents didn't even care about their children, and just lied on top of the chairs sun tanning. And the seniors were yapping about how ungrateful "kids in this generation" were, and nagging us to stop the children that were running around the place. Hey, we're trying.

One blonde-haired boy was the worst of them all. He was kind of the "leader" of all this. He was the one who started throwing the flutter boards at people in the first place. Dean was chasing a bunch of little girls who was in a cat fight, and pulling each other's hair. I was trying to stop the little boy from throwing the flutter boards, but he wouldn't listen to me, and just ran away.

"Hey! Stop that! Come back here, kid!" I yelled at him. He flung a flutter board at me, and I ducked.

"Come and catch me first, old lady!" he said, sticking his tongue out at me. I sighed, frustrated. Were all blonde guys jerks? He ran to a group of elderly seniors, and spat in their faces.

"Oh, my!" a lady said. "That is very rude, young man."

The little boy laughed and just stuck his tongue out at her. I went up to the lady and apologized. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. Would you like a free dinner coupon for tonight?"

"No. I want you to stop that little...imbecile," she snapped and I nodded.

"Right away, ma'am." Then I chased after the boy again. He was about to jump from the diving board into the water. I looked at the people close to the diving board, and who were going to get hit. A grandma and her baby granddaughter were there trying to swim away fast. I started running, despite the fact that you shouldn't run on pool decks. The boy was on the diving board now, and was just about to jump in, but I grabbed him.

As I reached behind him, I slipped in the puddle of water I stepped on, and we both fell down on the ground. "Ouch."

The little boy started wriggling in my arms. "Let…ugh…go…of…ugh…me…"

I held him tighter and sat up. "No. You cannot throw flutter boards at people like that. It's dangerous. What if you hit someone?"

"That's the point," he snickered.

"Well, how would you feel if I started throwing flutter boards at _you_?" I told him.

He smirked. "Well, then you'd get fired."

"You little…" I trailed off, knowing people were watching. "I am going to ban you from this pool little boy. And then you would go out into the night, and not have any place to go. And you'll starve, and you'll…" I kept on ranting nonsense to him, but stopped when I suddenly had a thought. How did he learn to talk to people like this? And where are his parents? If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he would be related to…

"Sonny! How dare you talk to my cousin like that?" Chad said coming behind me. Then he looked down at the devil in my hands. "Did the bad witch hurt you, Michael?"

He looked up at Chad with innocent puppy dog eyes and nodded. My mouth opened in shock. "Wha-but…I-I…"

"Enough, Sonny," Chad interrupted, and held out a hand to Michael. Michael stood up and took his hand, a look of sadness on his face. "Come on, Michael. Let's get away from the evil witch." He glared at me, and dragged the kid away.

"B-But…but…he…" I stuttered.

"How could you be so mean to him?" Chad scolded. "He's just a sweet little boy." I looked at Michael, who was nodding in agreement, and glared at him.

"_Sweet_? You must be blind, Chad, because this little boy is a no-good, stupid, little devil," I ranted. "I will tie you up if I have to and-"

"Sonny!" Chad cried. "One more word out of you, and I will have you fired."

"What? But he-"

"Ah-ah ah…" Chad said, waving his finger. I shut my mouth and glared at him. Unbelievable. I can't believe this. I just lost to a seven-year old boy.

"Fine. Just do what you want," I said, and turned to leave. Chad grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Wait," he said, pulling me back. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching a class?"

"Yeah, that's where I'm going now," I told him, and pointed to a group of kids waiting at the far corner of the pool.

"Well don't leave out one very important student," Chad said.

"Who?"

Chad smirked, and looked at Michael. My mouth hung open as I stared at him in shock. No way. There is no way this kid will be in my class. Chad smirked even wider, and lifted his finger to close my mouth. Then he handed me Michael's hand, and I took it while sulking.

I walked to the group of kids waiting for me with Michael behind me. I was about to start the swim lesson but realized Chad was still there. I gave him a look.

"You can go now," I told him.

"Oh, no," he said, shaking his head and smirking. "The minute I leave, who knows what you'll do to these kids!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to do anything to them, Chad."

Chad shrugged and crossed his arms. "We'll see. Come on, Sonny. We don't have all day." He waved his hand to urge me to continue. I sighed, forced a smile, and turned to the kids.

"Hello, guys," I said in the sweetest voice I could manage. "How's everybody doing today?"

"Good…" they all said in unison. Hmm, maybe this won't be so hard. I smiled smugly at Chad, who motioned his hand again to urge me to continue. I turned back to the kids with a huge smile on my face.

"Soo…who's ready to swim today…?" I asked cheerily. They all raised their hands in enthusiasm, and I relaxed, glad they're not a bunch of brats. I clapped my hands together. "Okay, then. So why don't we just get in the water and-"

I didn't get to finish the sentence because everyone started crying, and wailing. I tried to calm them down, but they just cried louder. "Oh, you guys! Uh, it's okay…calm down…please don't cry…come on…"

A little girl with short brown hair screamed and started a tantrum. "Why are you guys crying? Don't you like the water?" That was a very bad thing to say because they all started to jump up and down, and cried even louder. This was not going well.

I heard Chad chuckle behind me, and step closer to me. "I'm guessing you need help."

"No!" I snapped at him. "I don't need help from _you_."

Chad shrugged and held out a hand to Michael. "Okay, then. Come on, Michael." He took Chad's hand, and they headed out the front gate. The kids were still in a tantrum fit, and I tried my best to calm them down. The old lady who complained earlier came up to me.

"Can you please shut those kids up?" she said, covering her ears. "Don't you know how to control a class, girlie?"

"Hey! You try controlling a class of seven year olds in a tantrum," I shot back, raising my voice a bit. "Let's see how easy it is for _you_." The old lady glared at me, but left me alone.

"Oh…come on guys," I whined. "Please be quiet…I'll do anything…okay. You don't have to get in the water, how about that?" Instantly, they all stopped crying, and the brown haired girl looked up at me.

"Okay," she said, smiling. "Can we have ice cream, too?"

"What? I'm not getting you guys ice cream," I said, chuckling nervously. The little girl glared at me, and screamed. She started a tantrum again, and the rest of her friends followed her.

"Okay, okay!" I yelled. "Fine! I'll get you all ice cream! Just please stop crying!"

The kids stopped crying, and the little girl smiled. "Okay. Follow me." She walked to the front gate where the ice cream cart was, and I trudged behind her. This is just great. I was being controlled by a bunch of seven-year olds.

After I bought them all money, they insisted I get them all some snacks. I refused to do so, but they started crying again, so I had no choice. I went inside the pool kitchen, and opened the cupboards looking for snacks.

"You're not supposed to be looking for snacks when working," a voice said behind me. I rolled my eyes, and faced him.

"Well at least I _am_ working," I shot back. Chad grinned.

"Yes. Digging for snacks in the kitchen," he remarked. "You must be a hard worker, Sonny."

"These are for the children," I told him, and took out a box of Oreos. I walked back to the pool, and Chad followed me.

"Uh, no snacks on the pool deck, Sonny," he said.

"Well this is the only way I could get them to be quiet," I said. I looked back at him and saw he was alone. "Where's Michael? I miss the little angel already."

Chad grinned. "Well then I guess it's good news that he decided to come back tomorrow."

I glared at him. "Oh, joy."

Chad chuckled. "He had to go; his mom called him to go sightseeing or something."

"Oh, good," I breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think I can take anymore of his…uh, _sweetness_."

"Sonny, I know he's a devil," Chad said, chuckling.

"What? Then why did you-"

"Oh, Sonny," Chad laughed. "You think I don't know my own cousin? Please. I mean, where do you think he gets his witty personality from?" Chad popped the collar of his shirt. "I just told him to do that to bother you."

I glared at him. "I hate you."

"Flattery's not going to help you now, Sonny," Chad said, nodding his head to my students who were now getting restless, and was about to throw another tantrum. I ran to them and brought them the Oreos.

"Here you go guys!" I said nervously. "Mhmm…de-licious."

The little girl grabbed the box from me and tore it open. "About time."

I forced myself to smile, and hold back from pushing the girl into the water. I checked the watch on my wrist and saw I had just two more minutes until class is over, and I'm free from these devils. The kids finished the box of Oreos quickly, and finally, it was time for them to go.

"Come back now!" I called after them, smiling. I blew out a breath of relief and smiled smugly to Chad. "See? I didn't need your help."

"Maybe, maybe not. But you're not done yet." Chad nodded to someone behind me and I saw a blonde woman who looked pretty angry and annoyed. I looked down to see the little brown haired girl from my class holding her hand.

"Uh, can I help you ma'am?" I asked her in a sweet voice.

"Yeah," she said dryly. "My daughter said she learned nothing today. She didn't even go in the water! I paid for swimming lessons, and I expect her to be able to swim by the end of our visit."

I was shocked. Were all the kids here lying little weasels? "Uh, ma'am. I wanted to get them in the water, but they started crying, and throwing a tantrum. Especially your daughter."

The woman scoffed. "Bianca has never once thrown a tantrum in her life. And for the rest of the kids, you ever thought that maybe they were crying because you _didn't_ put them in the water?"

"But she did cry!" I protested. "Ask anyone who was in the pool today. They'll tell you. Ask the old woman who complained to me about the noise." I looked around for the old woman, but she was nowhere in sight. She must've already left because of all the noise.

"Where? I see no old women," the woman said. "Look, either you teach my daughter how to swim properly, or I will tell everyone I know what a horrible hotel this is. Especially with employees like _you_."

I was furious that this lady didn't believe me. She thought that her daughter was some kind of angel? Well she wasn't.

"Look, ma'am," I said, trying to keep my voice as politely as possible. "Your daughter _did _throw a tantrum, and so did the rest of the kids. And they did because they didn't want to go into the water _after_ I suggested them to. They even forced me to buy them all ice cream! _And _finished our last box of Oreos!"

"You're telling me that my seven-year old angel here did all that?" the lady raised one eyebrow at me.

"Well…uh, I…yes?" I stammered. The woman glared at me.

"How dare you!" she cried. "You know what? Forget about the lesson. I don't need my daughter to be influenced by your terrible behavior. Come on, Bianca."

"Yes, mother," Bianca said in an innocent voice. Then she smiled smugly at me and stuck her tongue out. "Later, grandma."

My mouth dropped open, and I glared at her. "Did you see that? Come here, you little devil…" I started to pounce on her, but Chad wrapped his arms around me and held me back.

"Let…go!" I said, struggling to break free of his hold.

Chad chuckled nervously. "Uh…we're so terribly sorry, ma'am. She's our newest employee. Please let us make it up to you tomorrow, and give us one more chance. I promise you we'll teach your daughter to swim. In fact, we'll give you one free lesson tomorrow! And if it doesn't work out, _then_ you can quit. How does that sound?"

The woman hesitated, and thought about it. "Alright," she finally said. "But one more chance. And only because I trust you more, and not _her_." She smiled at Chad but glared at me. Then she dragged her daughter away.

"Thank you, ma'am!" Chad called after her. The minute she left, he turned to me and glared. "What is wrong with you? You almost made us lose a customer!"

"But you saw what the kid did!" I said.

"Sonny, it doesn't matter how much you hate the kid," Chad said. "The point is, to make the guests happy."

"But I can't get them to listen to me!" I said.

"Well, that's your problem," Chad snapped. "Figure something out. _You're _the teacher."

I huffed at him, and crossed my arms. "Fine."

"Fine," Chad said.

"Good."

"Good."

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Chad?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to let go of me now?" He still had his arms around me, and dropped them abruptly and stepped back.

"Right," he said, stalking off in another direction. I scowled at him, and went back to my lifeguard chair. How am I supposed to teach a group of brats how to swim, when I can't even control one? This is so frustrating.

The worst part is, my break isn't for another half hour. You'd think I could wait that long, right? Wrong. The sun was scorching today, and my lifeguard chair didn't have an umbrella on the top unlike Dean's. I figured he must've brought his own, because I didn't see any umbrellas in the supply closet. Note to self; bring umbrella tomorrow.

The pool had gotten quieter-mostly because all of the kids and teenagers were gone now, and there was only the seniors and occasional couples in the pool. There weren't much people in the pool, and no one seemed to need any help, so I thought, why not?

I got down from my chair, and slipped my feet in the water. As soon as the cold sensation of the water touched my warm, hot skin, I relaxed. It was so relaxing, that I decided to slip my whole body in. "Ahhh…"

I ducked my head in the water, and it felt so refreshing. I lied on my back and just floated around in the water for a while. It felt so good to just relax there after a long day of work.

"Ms. Munroe." Mr. Holman's voice shot through me like a dagger, and I jerked up. I swam back to shore and greeted him.

"Hi, Mr. Holman!" I said, smiling brightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Uh…swimming…?"

"What if someone drowned in your absence?" he said. "And you didn't know that because you were too busy _swimming_."

"I-I'm sorry, sir," I apologized, scrambling out of the pool. "I-I just wanted to cool off. I mean, it was so hot and all…"

"The pool is for guests only. Unless you are teaching a class," he said sharply. "I don't see you teaching a class right now, so you have no excuse. Don't let this happen again."

"Yes sir." I ducked my head down, and climbed back up my lifeguard chair. I heard Mr. Holman's footsteps fade away, and I sighed. I started to feel kind of cold because I didn't have a towel. I was going to climb back down and get myself one, but I was afraid Mr. Holman might be watching, and I didn't want to get in trouble again. So I just stayed in my chair, and hugged myself, shivering. I shivered for a few minutes when a towel appeared out of nowhere.

I turned to see Dean offering me the towel and smiling. I smiled at him, and graciously took it. "T-Thanks…" I wrapped it around myself and instantly felt warmer.

"No problem," Dean said, and climbed up to his lifeguard chair. "Got booked, huh?"

I nodded and blushed. He laughed.

"Yeah, I did the same thing on my first day," he said. "I had to sit here for hours before closing time, and I could dry myself. Of course by then I was already dry, but it was still kind of cold."

"Where did you go?" I asked him, realizing I hadn't seen him when I was teaching the class.

"The little girls got nasty, and I had to take one of them to the nurse," he explained. "You do _not_ want to know what happened."

"These kids here are crazy," I said, shaking my head.

"Yeah, I blame the parents," Dean said. I nodded, agreeing with him. The way the woman talked to me today explains where Bianca gets her attitude from. "What time's your break, Sonny?"

I checked my watch. "About ten more minutes. How about you?"

"Oh, I had mine already," he said. "That's why I was gone for so long."

"Oh."

"Hey, after your break there's only an hour left until closing," he said. "Why don't you just head straight back to your room? I don't mind cleaning up. I did this all last summer by myself, anyways."

"No, it's okay," I said. "I don't feel good about leaving you to do all the work."

"I don't mind, Sonny," Dean said. "Really."

"But I want to help," I insisted. "Besides, what if Holman sees me out of work early? I'll get in trouble for sure."

"That's true," Dean said. "Okay, then."

After that, we talked more about ourselves, and got to know each other better. Pretty soon, it was time for my break. I decided to visit the gift shop and see if there was anything I could get my parents; send them a postcard or something, maybe. Besides, it gives me a chance to talk to Alex.

She was serving a customer when I walked in, and I waited until she was done before going up to her. "Hey."

"Hey!" she said, her face brightening when she saw me. "I'm so glad you're here."

I laughed. "Tough day?"

"You have no idea," she said, rolling her eyes. "I saw some kid steal a one of the lollipops there, but his mom claims that he didn't take anything. But I saw him with my own eyes! I was going to take out the security camera or something, but Holman was there so I let it go. I hate how we have to please the guests here."

"Tell me about it." I told her about my day from the teenage boys to the trouble I got in with Mr. Holman.

"Wow," she said when I was finished. "My story is nothing compared to yours."

"You have no idea," I said, repeating her words. I talked with her for a little longer, and even helped her serve customers a bit. We talked about school, parents, So Random, and boyfriends. I told her I didn't have a boyfriend, and she said she didn't have one either.

"But do you like anyone?" I asked her, wiggling my eyebrows. Alex laughed.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe…"

I leaned closer on the counter. "Ooh! Ooh! Who is it?"

"It's no one, really…" she said. I decided to let the topic go for now; I mean I have all summer to find out who it is, right? "So how's Dean?"

"He's cool, actually," I said. "He seems really nice-not to mention, _really_ cute."

Alex smiled. "Really? I haven't noticed."

I gave her look and she rolled her eyes. "Fine. He's a _little_ cute. But that's as high as I'll go." I laughed.

"So…do you…like him?" Alex asked. I blushed, but shook my head.

"No, no. Definitely not like _that_," I said. "He's a good friend, but I don't get that butterfly feeling when I'm with him, you know? Besides, I'm here to work this summer, not find love."

"Well, can't you do both?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I have to concentrate on getting into college."

"Well, that's a little boring," Alex muttered glumly. I laughed, and headed for the door.

"I have to get back to work," I said. "Later, Alex."

"Later," she said.

I walked back to the pool and hoped Mr. Holman wasn't there to see that I'm a little late. He'll no doubt start lecturing me-even if I was just one minute late. But when I got there, the pool was empty, and only Dean was there reading a book on his lifeguard chair.

"Hey," I said, walking up to him.

He looked down at me and smiled. "Hey. You're lucky Holman's not here. You are one minute late, missy."

I laughed. "Yeah, I lost track of time talking to Alex." I climbed up to my lifeguard chair beside him. Dean closed his book and suddenly listened intently.

"Really?" he said. "Did she say anything…about…uh…anything?"

I laughed. "Okay, what's with the sudden interest?"

"W-What sudden interest." Dean opened his book, and started reading again.

"Uh, well, she said that she doesn't have a boyfriend…?" I didn't really know what to say, and that was the most recent thing we talked about.

"Oh. I already knew that," he said quietly.

"Well, she didn't say anything else," I lied. I didn't think telling him that Alex thought he was "a little cute" was an appropriate thing to say.

"Oh, okay," he said.

I looked around the empty pool. "Where are all the guests?"

"They left for the show going on in the Party Room tonight," Dean said.

"Can we clean up earlier?" I asked. Dean shook his head.

"Made that mistake last year," he said. "Holman said never to clean up earlier than the official time just in case someone still wants to swim."

I sunk down in my seat feeling a little bored. I should've brought a book too. I could be filling out my college applications right now. Well, I could remember for tomorrow.

We sat there until closing, and then cleaned up quickly. I was just putting the used towels in the hamper, and Dean was locking the change rooms, when Chad sauntered in.

"What do you want, Chad?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

He scoffed. "Relax, Sonny. I didn't come here for you." He walked over to Dean who was just coming out from the change rooms. "Dean! Hey, man, there's a party over at Chelsea's house. Wanna come?"

Dean wrinkled his nose. "Party at the witch's lair? No thanks."

"Okay, cool. More room in the car for me," Chad said, and chuckled to himself. He headed towards the front gate, but stopped when he saw me. "Sorry, Sonny. You weren't invited."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, I wouldn't have wanted to come anyways."

Chad scoffed. "Right. You're only saying that to hide the pain."

"The only pain _I _get is if you keep showing up with that horrible face of yours," I said.

Chad laughed bitterly. "Hilarious, Sonny. Just like you to insult me when you don't get what you want."

I rolled my eyes. "How many times do I have to say it before it gets through your thick head? I. Don't. Want. To. Go."

"Well, good, 'cause you're not invited," he said.

"Good, 'cause I don't want to come," I said.

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!" Chad started to head to the front door, but I shouted after him.

"Oh, no! You're not having the last word, this time!" I yelled. "FINE!"

Dean came up to me and gave me a strange look. "What was that about?"

I laughed nervously. "Oh…nothing…that's just our usual conversation."

"Conversation?" Dean chuckled, raising his eyebrows. "That was one loud conversation, made up of only, 'Fine! Fine! Good! Good!'" We laughed. "See you tomorrow, Sonny."

"Bye, Dean," I called out. I went out the front gate, and locked it. My phone started mooing, and I checked the caller id. It was Chad. I picked up the phone, and before he could say anything, I shouted, "Good!" into the phone.

"Darn it!" he said. "I'll get you next time, Sonny."

"Not a chance," I smirked and hung up the phone. I started walking back to my room, and halfway there, my phone started to buzz again. I rolled my eyes and picked it up.

"Chad, leave me alone," I said. "Good, good, good, good, and GOOD!"

"Sonny?" I heard Marshall say. Oops.

"Uh, heh…Marshall?" I chuckled nervously.

"Sonny, is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes, everything's fine," I assured him. "Why are you calling so late at night?"

"Well, the producers called for an emergency cast meeting," he said. "Tomorrow. Ten o'clock."

"What? But I-" I started.

"Goodnight, Sonny," he said, hanging up. Great. How am I supposed to make it to the meeting_ and_ get to work? So far, this job isn't as great as it seems. My phone buzzed again, and I picked it up in a glum voice.

"Hello?" I said wearily.

"GOOD!" I hung up the phone, and slapped my hand on my forehead. "Arrgh!!"

* * *

_A/N: Oh, no! What will she do?! Find out next on…"Summer Fades To Fall"…lol_


	6. I'm Sneaking Out

_A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry for the long update. I've been trying to balance my story schedule thing out, so that I could update once a week. It's just that I've never really written multiple stories at once before, and it's kind of hard for me. But anyways, I think I'm getting the hang of it, so just stick with me there. I'm planning to update once a week now, so we'll see. _

_Thank you soo much to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome, seriously. All your reviews bring a smile to my face. So this is chapter five, everyone. Hope you like it._

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**ichel.x, nk2000, nanny kiwi gurl, Shippo7777, S-W-A-C-fan123, elizabeth567, starsandstripesforever, falling-in-love-with-him.,** _and to my anonymous reader_**, BLAHBLAHBLAH 0,  
**

_And anyone else who reads this story. Thank you all!_

_Usually, I would just stick to the dedications of whoever reviewed in the last chapter, but I'd like to give out a special dedication to _**iamkiley**_ because you've made me so happy with your reviews. I still don't really think I'll become a famous author, but thanks for saying that, lol. And to say that my story, JOOLLG made you read other SWAC fics, means a lot to me. So thank you, and this chapter is dedicated to you specially, but to the others above as well. _

_Disclaimer: Not now. Not then. Not ever. Moving on…

* * *

_

5. I'm Sneaking Out

**SPOV:**

I crept behind a wall, hoping he didn't see me. He didn't, and Holman kept walking. I breathed a sigh of relief, and peeked behind the wall. It was right there. My exit. All I had to do was walk over there, and I could get away with this. But as I started to walk towards the front gate, a certain jerk's voice stopped me.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked. I froze in my place. So close…

- OOO -

I decided the only way to make the meeting, and not get fired was to fake sickness. That's the only thing this hotel allows you to miss work for. So, with the help of my new best friend, Alex, I faked a flu. I called the front office telling them I can't come to work today because I had a cold. Guess who picked up?

"You've reached James Inn. How may I help you?" Chelsea answered in a fake cheery voice.

I coughed into the phone, and answered with a raspy voice, "Chelsea, it's me. Sonny."

There was a pause on the other hand. "Okay, Sonny. Do you have a registration, ma'am?"

I glared into the phone, but answered calmly. "Chelsea…I work here. I just wanted to say I can't go to work today because I have a cold. Thanks." Before she could say anything else, I slammed down the phone. I was about to leave, but Alex stopped me.

"Wait," she said. "The witch will probably send her dad to check up on you. You better stay here until he believes you're really sick." I sighed, but changed into my pajamas, and crawled back into bed.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door. Alex got up and answered it. As she predicted, it was Mr. Holman. He strided into the room, and looked around. When he spotted me in bed, he marched up the loft to look at me.

"H-Hi…Mr. Holman," I said in a raspy voice. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Are you really sick?" he said.

I nodded, and coughed a few times.

"Or are you just faking it to skip work?" he asked, glaring at me.

"Sonny is a hard worker, and a _terrible_ liar," Alex said, coming up behind him. "So she never lies, and she wouldn't pretend to be sick to miss work." I shot her a grateful look, and she smiled.

"Did I ask you?" Mr. Holman snapped at her. Then he turned back to me, still disbelieving. "You were fine yesterday."

"Actually, (cough) my throat started tickling yesterday," I told him, and hacked another cough. "But the effect started kicking in last night…and well, here I am now."

Holman stared at me for a moment, and I tried my best to look as innocent and sick as possible. It must've worked, because he finally let me go.

"Fine," he said, turning to leave. But he stopped at the edge of the stairs. "But if I catch you faking it, there'll be serious consequences. Understand?" He gave me a hard stare and I nodded. "Good. I'll be checking in on you every half hour."

My eyes widened a bit, but I made myself smile. "I'll be here…" I said weakly.

Holman narrowed his eyes at me. "Hmm…" Then he climbed down the stairs, and left our room. I sat up in my bed, and groaned.

"Alex, what am I going to do now?" I asked her. Alex sat on the edge of my bed, and shrugged. "Can you cover for me?"

"Sonny, I have my own butt to cover right now," she answered. "If I'm not at work either, Holman will know something's up. And I can't keep coming back here to make up excuses, because Holman is on my trail every minute."

I sighed. "Then what am I going to do?"

"Hey! I have an idea," Alex said, brightening up. She ran to her bag, and pulled out some kind of tape recorder. "Just record your voice here."

I gave her a look. "You bring a tape recorder here?"

She shrugged. "I want to be a reporter some day." I laughed, and took it. I pressed the button and started recording different voices. When I was done, I handed it back to Alex. "But Alex, I don't get it. Who's going to turn this on if you're at work?"

"Easy," she said, and ran to the computer. I followed her. She plugged in a cable, and started typing some stuff on it. "There. You see this?" She held up her phone.

"Yeah…" I said.

"Well, this computer is now connected to my phone," Alex explained. "So I can bring this to work, and every time Holman comes, I'll just press a few buttons and activate your voice."

"But how would you know what he's saying?" I asked, curious.

Alex smiled deviously. "Claire is a major tech freak. She got me this hearing device thing for Christmas." Alex rolled her eyes. "But it's helpful now, right?"

I laughed. "I guess so. Thanks so much, Alex." I rushed out the door and hoped that Holman wasn't there. So far, it was pretty quiet and no one was there. I ran out of the Cooper Employee Building, and half-walked, half-ran to the front gate. When I could see the gate, and was just a few steps away, Holman appeared from out of nowhere, and I had to hide.

I crept behind a wall, hoping he didn't see me. He didn't, and Holman kept walking. I breathed a sigh of relief, and peeked behind the wall. It was right there. My exit. All I had to do was walk over there, and I could get away with this. But as I started to walk towards the front gate, a certain jerk's voice stopped me.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked. I froze in my place. So close…

I turned back to him, with a smile on my face. "Uh…what are _you_ doing?"

"I asked first." He said, looking at me strangely. I chuckled nervously.

"Did you, Chad? Did you really?" I asked him. "Because if I remember clearly, I asked you a question once, and you never answered. So technically, you didn't ask first."

"What question? You never asked me a question," he said.

"Ah…see, what I mean?" I asked him in a calm voice.

Chad furrowed his brows. "No, I don't know what you mean. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, so _now_ who's ignoring who?" I said. Chad had his mouth open, and he was staring at me with a look of utter confusion.

"_What_? What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You know what, Chad?" I said. "Just because we don't like each other, doesn't give you an excuse to ignore my questions. Just forget it. I'll do the honors, and leave first."

"Wait, Sonny. What are you-" I interrupted him, with a scoff, and turned on my heel to leave. I reached out to touch the front gate, but Chad stopped me again. Darn it. So, so close…

"Sonny!" he called, and I could hear his footsteps getting closer. "If you were trying to confuse me with all of those questions, it didn't work. Well, actually it did, but I still want to know what you're doing here." Darn it. I thought he would be too confused to realize I was sneaking out. I mentally cursed myself for not noticing Chad earlier.

I sighed and turned to him. "Fine. I'm sneaking out."

"Why?"

"Because Marshall called yesterday saying all So Random members had to attend the emergency meeting today, and if I don't go I'll get fired, but I can't go without getting fired from this job either, and the only way to let the hotel let me skip work was if I was sick, so I faked a cold, and pretended to be staying in bed, but then Holman said he'd check up on me every half hour, so Alex had the tape recorder, and then her sister is a tech freak, so she had some kind of hearing device, and she'll bring her phone to work that's connected to everything, and so I can go safely, but then I saw Holman so I had to hide, but then thank god he didn't see me, and I thought I was safe now, but then you saw me, and I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling Chad!" I rambled in all one breath. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. Chad just stared at me with a look of disbelief on his face. He didn't say anything for a while, and just stared at me.

"Yeah…" he finally said. "I won't be asking why from now on."

I laughed. "Sorry."

"So…now that you've told me all of that…" he said. "You do realize I could tell Holman right now, right?"

I sighed, and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Oh, come on, Chad. Please don't tell."

"Sure, but I'm coming with you," he replied.

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I just want to make sure you're not lying to me, and end up going to some critique instead, and say bad stuff about this hotel," he stated. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not going to say bad stuff about this hotel," I told him.

"Uh-huh. Because that's what you did last time." Chad quirked an eyebrow to me. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"I didn't know he was a critique, okay? Let. It. Go." I said, through clenched teeth.

"Whatever, Sonny. Just let me come," he persuaded. I rolled my eyes, and gritted my teeth.

"Fine."

"Fine."

- OOO -

"I'm here! I'm here…" I panted as we entered the meeting room.

"What took you so long?" Tawni asked sharply.

"Well, I would've been here sooner, but _somebody_ decided to waste my time criticizing my car." I shot Chad a daggered look. "It took me a while to get him in."

"It's not my fault your car's so old and beat-up," Chad shot back.

"Thanks, I modeled it after you," I said, smiling innocently. Chad glared at me, and opened his mouth to say something, but Tawni interrupted him.

"Why did you even bring him in the first place, Sonny?" Tawni asked.

"He forced me to!" I said.

"I didn't force anyone-" Chad started.

"Who cares who forced who!" Nico interrupted.

"Yeah, can we just get this meeting over with?" Grady asked. "We're missing summer school for this."

"And that's a _bad_ thing?" Tawni asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, if your teacher just happened to be the lovely and beautiful Ms. Moretti," Nico said. Ms. Moretti was the substitute studio teacher that fills in for Ms. Bitterman if she gets sick. She has long brown curly hair, and has a face of an angel. Nico and Grady-of course-loves her, and tries to get Ms. Bitterman sick all the time.

"_And_ the classroom has a pizza machine in it!" Grady added. I giggled at them. I missed them over the summer. Tawni just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Can we just start this stupid meeting already?" Tawni said. "I missed my shitzu massage for this!"

"You mean, _shiatsu_?" I corrected her. Tawni waved her hand absentmindedly.

"Shitzu, shiatsu," she said. "The point is, I missed _some_ kind of massage." I rolled my eyes. Marshall finally came in the room and greeted everyone.

"Well I'm glad everyone could make it…" he trailed off as he searched the room for one member. "Where's Zora?"

"Up here," answered a muffled voice from the vents. Marshall looked up and saw Zora peeking out of the vents.

"Oh. Okay," he said, and turned back to us. "Well, the producers said that they're business meeting is taking longer than usual. So…you won't be filming until September; after the summer is over."

I nearly knocked my chair down, standing up so abruptly. "That's _it_?" I cried. "I risked the chance of getting fired of my new job because you wanted to tell us we won't be filming until _after_ the summer?"

"And I missed my shitzu massage!" Tawni whined.

"Shiatsu!" we all cried in unison.

"And Ms. Moretti probably went home by now," Nico said sadly.

"Which means the classroom is closed," Grady said. "And that means I won't get my pizza."

"Why didn't you just tell us over the phone, Marshall?" I asked him.

"Because I thought you all wanted to see each other…?" he guessed. We all groaned, and whined. "Okay…I'll just be going now, then." And he ran out of the meeting room without another word.

"Well, that's just great!" Tawni said, and started punching numbers into her phone. "Now I have to book another appointment."

"Forget about that," I told her. "I have to get back to my job!" I ran out of the room too without another goodbye, and hopped in my car. I heard someone calling my name, but I ignored it. I drove out of the studio parking lot, but I had an uneasy feeling in my gut.

I kept feeling like I was forgetting something. Something big. I dug in my purse, and checked to see if I had my cell phone. Yep, it was there. Everything seemed to be there. I sighed, and turned back to the road. It was probably nothing.

It wasn't until I passed by a Mackenzie Falls poster that I realized what I had forgotten. Chad. In all of my rush to get back to the hotel, I had forgotten that Chad came with me here. I quickly made a U-turn and drove back to the studio. Chad was there in front of the gate, glaring at me. I pressed my lips together to hold back a laugh as he climbed into my car.

"Thanks for waiting for me, Sonny," he said dryly. I bit my lips, but I couldn't control the giggle that came out of my lips.

"I-I came back, didn't I?" I said, my body shaking with laughter. Chad scowled at me, and pouted the whole way back. When we reached the hotel, I was greeted with a very panicked Alex.

"Sonny!" she said. "Thank god you're here. Holman didn't believe the tape recorder thing any longer, so he got a spare key for our room, and is on his way to our room right now!"

I panicked. "What? But there's no way I could get there in time! The Employee Building is all the way on the other side of campus!"

"You have to!" Alex insisted. "If he doesn't find you there in bed and sick, you're dead."

"Oh…I'm dead…" I groaned, and rubbed my temples. I heard Chad sigh, and I glared at him. "You can go now."

He narrowed his eyes at me, and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. He opened it again, but closed it again. He did this for a few times, unsure of what to say, until finally he sighed and looked me straight in the eye. "You don't have to thank me."

"Thank you for wha-" I started, but Chad had already walked away. What was he talking about? Was he about to help me or something? I shook that thought away knowing Chad never helps anyone. I turned back to Alex, and pulled her arm. "Come on. Let's see if we can make it to the back door without him seeing us."

We ran to the Employee Building, and ran to the back door. We ran up the stairs as fast as we could, and were so close to our room, but saw someone step out of the elevator. Holman. Darn it. We hid behind a laundry basket and saw him stand in front of our door. We saw him take out the key card and was just about to slide it in, when his phone rang.

He picked it up, annoyed, but his expression changed to surprise when he found out who it was. "Mr. Cooper! O-Oh…you lost your watch? One of the guests? Okay. I'll be right there. Yes, sir. Okay. Bye." He shut his phone and went back down the elevator. Alex and I exchanged each other a look of surprise, and shrugged.

We ran inside our rooms, and I quickly changed into my pajamas and jumped into bed. Alex ran back out when she saw I was okay now, and locked the door before she did. I waited patiently in bed, and listened to the sound of the elevator ringing.

Finally, about ten minutes later, I heard footsteps in the hallway. The got closer and closer, and I heard them stop in front of my door. I heard the doorknob jiggle, and then the door swung open, revealing an angry Mr. Holman. I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

I heard him climb up the stairs, and I could feel him hovering above me. "Ugh. She's sleeping," I heard him say. He walked back down the stairs of the loft, and the door slammed shut. I waited a few moments before realizing the coast was clear, and sitting back up in bed.

I let out a huge sigh of relief, and leaned across my bed to get my cell phone. I dialed Alex's number, and she picked up on the second ring.

"How is it?" she asked.

"We're safe," I informed her, letting out another sigh of relief. "Thanks so much, Alex. You're a lifesaver."

"Your welcome," she said, then paused. "You won't be sneaking out again, will you?"

"Uh…I don't think so, no." I told her.

I heard her sigh on the other end. "Oh, thank god. I don't think I can take much more of that. Too much adrenaline." I laughed and apologized for troubling her so much.

"Where are you now?" I asked her.

"I'm walking past the swimming pool, I'm waving to Dean-hey, Dean!-I'm walking past the washrooms, and I'm approaching the gift shop…I'm opening the doors to the gift shop, and I'm walking in, and I'm getting behind the counter, and-"

"Okay, I get it. I don't need every detail, Alex," I said, laughing.

"You asked," she said. I heard the doorknob jiggle, and my eyes widened.

"Wait, someone's here," I said. "Gotta go." I hung up the phone, threw it back on top of the drawer, and lied back down on the bed, closing my eyes. Why was Holman here again? I still had like, twenty-five more minutes left before he was supposed to check up on me again.

I heard the door close, and the lock click. That's strange…why would he lock the door? I suddenly got kind of scared. What was he planning to do to me? I tried to keep my breathing even, but it was hard to do when I could hear him getting closer and closer, until he stood hovering my bed. I was starting to sweat and hyperventilate. My heart was beating faster and faster. Maybe he'll think I'm still asleep, just having a bad dream or something. Maybe he'll think I got a fever. Whatever it is, I just hope he leaves me alone. I was really scared of the fact that a grown-up man I hardly even know is in my room right now-with the door locked. What is Mr. Holman thinking?

"You don't have to pretend, you know." Chad's voice broke through my inner babble. "It's just me."

My eyes shot open to see Chad standing there, giving me a strange look. I sat up, and looked around the room to see that he was alone. My heart calmed down a bit, but I was still curious as to why Chad was here. In my room. With the door locked.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped.

"I took Holman's key so he can't come in here anymore," he said, showing me the key card. "I also locked the door so he can't get in."

"What are you doing here?" I repeated. Chad rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Your friend sent me here to tell you that," he said. "I'll be going now."

"Is that all you're here for?" I checked. He nodded. I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god."

"What did you think I was here for?" he asked, confused.

I shook my head, and my face reddened. "You'd rather not know." Chad kept staring at me with a confused look, but his eyes widened when he realized what I meant.

"Oh! Gross," he exclaimed, making a face. "I mean, if I had to choose, _you_ of all people wouldn't be my first choice. Or last. Or any choice, for that matter."

"Well, you wouldn't be mine either!" I snapped. "How was I supposed to know what you were doing here? I mean, suddenly I heard footsteps, and the door locked…so I thought…"

Chad made another face. "Okay, I would never do that. To _you_ of all people."

"Well, good, because I don't want you to," I said.

"Good, because I don't want to," he said.

"Good."

"Good."

"Good!"

"Good!" And with that, he stormed off the stairs, and opened the door. But I stopped him before he left.

"And Chad?" I called out.

"What?"

"Thanks," I said, smiling sweetly. I mean, he may be a jerk, but what he did for me today was sweet so I had to thank him for that. I saw Chad turn still, and he looked surprised at my sudden change of mood.

"F-For what?" he said, baffled.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Let's just say, I hope you find your watch, Mr. Cooper."

Chad's eyes widened, and I could see his face turn red a little bit. I smiled at him, liking the fact that I could make him blush now. He looked down on the floor and mumbled, "I told you you don't have to thank me."

I smiled. "It's okay. It was still nice of you to do that."

He didn't say anything, but nodded. I think I heard him mutter, "Just don't expect it to be a regular habit for me." Then without another word, he left the room. I giggled at how embarrassed he could get just because he did something nice. Chad was so strange sometimes. I lied back on my bed, enjoying the few more hours I had for my day off today before bedtime.

* * *

_A/N: Chad was kind of OOC when he blushed, which is why I added that last comment of his at the end. So I hope you liked this chapter!_

_And sorry again for the late updates-or that's what it feels like to me.  
_


	7. Impossible

_A/N: Chapter 6. I'm so sad! In Wizards, Dean and Alex broke up! They were so cute though! Oh, well, we still got Channy. ;)_

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**XxbreebreexX1995, purplenpeace4evaaa, LilHaven, WinglesslyWinged, Sprinkles664, Demi-Fan-Channy, channy4eva, kippycat, TwilightMaxiumXHungerGames **_(I love your name! Those books are awesome ;] Although I've never read Maximum Ride-that is what you're talking about, right? Lol. Can you just wait for Catching Fire?! I can't!)_**, JonasBrother94, choirsinger****, Don'tTellMeDon'tWriteBack****, Thecla **_(Thanks for the review!)_**, **_and to my anonymous reviewer, _**lolz3 (),**

_And anyone else who reads this, but I don't know they do. Thank you!_

_And please check out my collaboration story with **xocharleyfletcherxo** (charley), "The Dating Strike". The link to our account is on my profile. Thanks!  
_

_Disclaimer: You really should know by now. Do I have to say it? Like, really. Everyone knows by now that I don't own Sonny With a Chance. Do I have to actually say it? Oh…wait… Moving on…

* * *

_

6. Impossible

**SPOV:**

I really dreaded going to work again, but I had to. Holman was _already_ suspicious about me skipping work yesterday because I was "sick". So I had to make sure that I was at work today. Plus, I felt bad for Dean. I think I left him with all of the work again-including the brats that were supposed to be my students.

I entered the pool gate, and saw Dean cleaning the pool with the automatic cleaner. I put my bag down, and walked over to him.

"Hey," I greeted him. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey," he said. "Are you feeling better now?" I chuckled nervously.

"Uh…yeah. A lot better, thanks," I said. "I'm sorry I left you with all of the work yesterday."

Dean shrugged. "You shouldn't work if you're sick. I don't mind."

I nodded. "…Right…" I went to the back closet and took out the towels. I started spreading them out on the chairs. I heard Dean go in the change rooms to unlock it. When I was done, I brought out the umbrella from my bag and set it on top of my lifeguard chair. This time, I was prepared.

I had also brought my own lunch so I didn't have to ask Dean for some, and I didn't have to waste time by going to the Cooper Employee Building. And this time, I brought a book too just in case I get bored. I sat in my lifeguard chair while Dean opened the gate. Then he went up to his lifeguard chair and sat beside me.

In no time at all, a crowd of guests burst through the gate, and it was chaos. Welcome to hell, Sonny.

- OOO -

The kids were being really ridiculous-even more than the first day. Since they knew now that they had the power to control me, they took total advantage of it. They were all running around, and I was getting frustrated. The girl, Bianca, was the worst of them all. She acted like some kind of spoiled brat, and her mom thinks she's an angel. This is the Dakota incident all over again.

But the good thing is, her mom wasn't here to see what a horrible job I was doing. Instead, her mom was at the spa-or at least that's what Alex told me. She expected her little "angel" to have learned how to swim by now, but what was I supposed to do with a group of seven-year old brats who won't listen to a word I'm saying, and won't even get into the water? It's not my fault her daughter is a spoiled brat. Was I the one who raised her to become like this?

"Bianca," I pleaded. "Please. Please get in the water." When you're on your knees, begging to a seven year old, you know you've hit rock bottom.

"Umm…lemme think about that…" she said, putting a finger under her chin. "No!" Then she stomped on my foot and pushed past me. I stumbled backwards and almost fell in the pool if not for two strong hands catching me. I turned to see Chad smirking.

"Thanks," I mumbled, and set myself upright.

"You know I could've just let you fall into the water," he said. "After what you've done to me."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"So I can see what a great job you're doing," Chad remarked sarcastically. I sighed, and my shoulders drooped.

"I know," I admitted. "They won't listen to me at all! And the girl's mom will be here, and she expects to find her daughter wet!"

"Woah, woah," he said, trying to calm me down in my outrage. "There's a simple solution to all of this. All you've got to do is say the magic words, and admit that you need help from _me_." Chad began to smirk smugly.

I rolled my eyes. And, being the stubborn person I was, I pushed past him. "I don't need help from _you_, Chad. I don't need help from anyone," I called over my shoulder.

"Suit yourself!" Chad called. "Just don't come running to me when the mom comes, and beat your insides out."

I rolled my eyes, and took a deep breath. I _was_ going to do this. I was going to make them listen to me if it's the last thing I do. They _will_ listen to me, and they _will _learn how to swim…er, soon. I will teach them how to swim if it's the last thing I do this summer.

I clapped my hands and called over the children. Surprisingly, they obeyed, and gathered around me. But not in the way I hoped for.

"So are you going to buy us all ice cream again?" asked Michael. My face fell, and I frowned at him.

"Er…no," I said. "But-" I didn't get to finish my sentence, because they all shrugged and dispersed again. How could I have lost their attention so fast?

"Wait!" I called out. They stopped and turned back to me, waiting. I looked at Bianca who had her eyebrows raised, and gave me a look that said, "This better be important". I gulped nervously, and smiled widely at the group of seven year olds. "I've changed my mind. I _am_ going to buy all of you ice cream."

They all smiled widely, and gathered around me again. "I want chocolate fudge this time!" Michael cried out. I leaned down to them.

"Okay," I said sweetly. "But I'll make you guys a deal. If you want ice cream, you have to earn it."

"I knew she wouldn't give in that easily." Bianca narrowed her eyes at me. "What do you want us to do?"

"You guys have to listen to me all day, and let me teach you how to swim," I told her. I held my breath and waited for their response, hoping we'll finally come to an agreement.

"I knew it," Bianca muttered. "You think we're idiots, Sonny? We're not as naïve as you think. Why would we do that just to get ice cream? No thanks." And with the flip of her hair, she turned on her heel and went back to lounging on her chair. Seriously, this girl was annoying me to death. I mean, how old is she really? She acts like she's my age, and as big of a witch as Chelsea is.

Michael looked at Bianca, to me, and back at Bianca. He looked confused as to who he should follow. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he grimaced, and sighed. Then he went to sit beside Bianca, pouting. "Me too," he muttered, clearly unhappy that he'll get no ice cream. The rest of the kids nodded in agreement and sat beside them. Darn it. So close.

I groaned and heard Chad laughing behind me. I turned around to see him on the ground, clutching his sides uncontrollably. I glared at him, but that only made him laugh harder. I went to the pool and splashed water in his face. He stopped, and glared at me. I smiled smugly, and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Hey, I asked if you needed help," he said, shaking off the water.

"And I said I didn't need it," I told him. "And I still don't now." And with that, I stomped off towards the kids without another word to Chad. I was going to get them to listen to me, no matter what.

Okay. So the leader here was obviously Bianca. If I could get _her_ to listen to me, then the others will follow. But…how? I went up to her, and smiled.

"Bianca…" I said in my cheery voice.

"No."

"Aw, come on! Can't we make a deal or something?" I felt so pathetic; begging to a little girl who by now has complete control over me. Bianca sat up, and smiled at me. "Aw, see? We can negotiate this like the adults we are."

"Okay. Let's make a deal," Bianca said, and I smiled even wider. "How about you leave me alone, and you don't have to get us ice cream?"

My face fell, and I glared at her. "Okay, that's it. No more nice Sonny. What is your problem?"

"Right now, you." Bianca sat back in her seat. I moved closer to her, and towered above her tiny body, trying my best to look intimidating.

"Bianca, your mom paid me to teach you how to swim," I said. "And I _will_ teach you how to swim. You need to respect me as your teacher. More importantly, you need to respect me as a person. No one should be treated the way you treat me."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Like my mom will ever know whether I swim or not. She's never here."

Suddenly, I know why she was what she was now. I actually pitied her, and my face softened as I went and sat beside her. "Aww…look, just because you feel bad your mom is never here, doesn't mean you should treat people that way."

"Who said I felt bad about it?" Bianca retorted. "I was just saying it doesn't matter whether you teach me to swim or not, because she won't be here to see it." And just like that, my pity vanished.

"Okay…" I said. "But why don't you want to swim? I was scared too when I first started-"

"I'm not scared!" Bianca cried. "Sonny, move. You're blocking my sun." She waved her hand dismissively, and I glared at her but got up. I sighed and walked over to Chad who was drying himself with a towel. When he saw me approach him, his eyes widened and stepped back.

"Woah, Sonny," he said, holding his hands up to fend me off. "I just dried myself off. Don't you dare splash me again."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not here to splash you, Chad."

Chad stopped, and slowly brought his hands down. "You're not?"

"No…" I sighed. "Let's say…_theoretically_, I _do_ need help. What do you suppose I do?"

Chad's frown turned into a smirk. I knew what was coming next, and I instantly regretted asking him this. "Well, I don't know, Sonny. _Do_ you need help?"

"_Theoretically_," I repeated, glaring at him. That only made him smirk wider. He shook his head and tsked at me.

"Well, that's not saying you need help," he said. "So I guess you don't need it…" he sang.

I huffed at him. "You know what? Never mind. I can do this by myself."

"Can you, Sonny? Can you, really?" Chad asked, stepping closer to me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"That doesn't work on me anymore," I told him. "And yes, I can."

"Then why are your students trying to drive a car over there?" Chad looked past me, and pointed to something behind me. I turned around and my eyes widened. Bianca was in the driving seat, and the other kids were cheering them on.

"Whose car is that?" I exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Chad cried. "But if I were you, I'd spend more time trying to get them out of the car, and less time trying to figure out whose car that is."

I ran to them, and started screaming in panic. "Bianca! Get out of there! Everyone! Out! _Now_."

"No, Sonny," Bianca stated with a smirk. "We're bored. It's a good thing some mail guy came and parked this here. Oh, but he forgot to lock it…oh well! Even better for us." She turned the key on the ignition, and the engine purred. I tried opening the door, but they had locked it. Great. I was so fired.

"Please, get out of there," I pleaded her. "You guys could get killed. This is so dangerous."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "How hard is it to press a gas pedal, and turn a steering wheel?"

"Unless you can _reach_ the pedal…it'll be _hard_." I tried tugging at the door again. "Bianca! I mean it. Open. _Now._"

"Umm…_no_." Bianca smirked, and pressed the gas pedal with her foot. I winced. "Oh, look at that. I _can_ reach it! Now all I gotta do is shift this little stick here to drive, and I'm off."

I heard someone chuckling behind me. "Chad! Now is not the time."

"Hey, I asked if you needed help," he retorted.

"I don't need help!" I yelled. Bianca pressed harder on the gas pedal, and tapped the gear shift. My eyes widened, and I turned to Chad. "Okay! Yes! I need help, Chad! Just get them out of there!" I was in hysterics. I think Chad could sense that, because he didn't waste another minute gloating to me. Instead, he tapped the glass, and motioned to Bianca to roll down the window. She did, but only a little bit.

Chad leaned in, and whispered something to her, and I saw her eyes light up. Chad stepped back and smiled smugly. I gave him a curious look, but next thing I knew, Bianca opened the door of the car and stepped out. Everyone else followed her, and she stood in front of me with a sweet smile on her face.

"We're ready to learn, Sonny," Bianca said sweetly. My eyebrows shot up, and I gave Chad a curious look. He just shrugged, and smiled smugly.

"Uh…okay…" I said to Bianca. "Just wait for me there." I pointed to the pool deck, and they obeyed immediately. I turned to Chad with a shocked expression. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her I'd pay them each ten bucks if they listened to you," he said, then smoothed out the collar of his shirt. He was wearing a short sleeved button-up shirt, but the buttons were undone and he had a white shirt underneath. "You're welcome."

I smacked him on the head. "You idiot! I don't want them to respect me just for money! I want them to respect me for _me_."

Chad rubbed the back of his head while he glared at me. "Okay. I do this for you, and I get smacked in return? Sonny, I am _hurt_-" he paused, then added, "-no, literally, I'm _hurt_." He pointed to his head where I smacked him.

I rolled my eyes. "You're impossible, Chad." Then I stalked off to the kids, who were, surprisingly, waiting patiently. I hated to ruin this, and tell them they're not getting any money. Well, maybe…I don't _have_ to…_No, Sonny!_ I scolded myself for beginning to think like Chad. But, really…just this once…I mean, who could it hurt, right? I sighed.

"Alright, Chad," I called to him, knowing he was lurking around somewhere behind me. "Just this once."

"Yes!" I heard him yell. I turned around to see his smug face. "Now say it." I gave him a pout and rolled my eyes.

"Chad Dylan Cooper is a genius," I muttered unhappily.

"I know." Chad pinched my cheek, and went to talk to Dean. "And just keep thinking that, Sonny."

I ignored him and turned to the kids. Well, I might as well try and get a lesson in them. I took a deep breath, and let it out. "Okay…" I said slowly. "Why don't we all…get…in…the…water…?" I grimaced, thinking they would start a tantrum again. Surprisingly, they obeyed, and got into the pool without complaint. I stared at them in shock. Then I turned to Chad, and he smirked and winked at me.

Chad may be a goon, but this time, he actually came in handy. "Alright, people! Let me see your backstrokes!" I showed the kids how to turn your arms, and how to kick your legs. They listened intently, and then followed my instructions. They swam around like that for a while until I told them to switch to front crawl.

I gave them a couple more instructions-to which they all followed-and finally it was almost time to go. I smiled at them, and wished that they would just be like this all the time-_without_ bribing them. "Okay, guys. It's almost time to go. So you can play around in the pool if you want, or just hop out and dry off." I thought they were going to stick around in the pool, because I thought they had actually started to like it. But as soon as I gave them permission to get out, they all scrambled out of the water like it was filled with hot magma.

I sighed sadly. I'd thought I'd actually changed their minds about the water. I wondered what they had against water. What was so bad about swimming?

I started cleaning the floating devices we had used when Bianca and her mom came up to me. This time, though, her mom was smiling.

"Sonny, right?" she said. I nodded. "Bianca said she had an amazing time, and when I asked her what she learned today, she answered with real swimming terms! Front crawl, backstroke, flutter kicks…I didn't even know there was such thing! Thank you, Sonny. I guess that talk with your boss really helped. And I'm sorry for screaming at you like that yesterday."

"O-Oh…uh, no problem," I stuttered, surprised. "Bianca was great today. It's a pleasure to have her in my class." I knew I shouldn't have lied like that, but her mom probably wouldn't have believed me if I told her otherwise. And besides, Holman always said the customer is always right if it doesn't relate to the rules.

"Well, I'm glad she got a great teacher," her mom complimented. I smiled warmly at her, though it didn't reach my eyes.

"Oh, and just so we're clear," I started. "Chad's not my boss. He just acts like it."

The mom looked confused for a second, but nodded. "Oh, okay then. See you tomorrow, Sonny."

I smiled again, and waved at her. The minute she left, I dropped my smile and blew out a sigh of relief. It's a good thing Bianca didn't tell her mom about the car thing. I'll get fired for sure.

"What did she say?" Chad asked, coming up beside me.

"She said I was a 'great teacher'," I answered glumly. Chad gave me a strange look.

"Well that's great. Why do you sound so sad?" he asked.

"Because I'm not a great teacher," I answered truthfully. "You had to bribe them, and that's not right. I want them to be able to respect me as a teacher, not because you paid them to."

Chad stared at me with a blank expression, then whistled. "Wow. That's so…inspiring, Sonny."

I looked up at him with a smile. "Really?" He scoffed.

"Psh, no!" he laughed. "I just like making you think that it is."

I glared at him. "You. Are. Impossible."

"Yeah…thanks," he replied. "By the way, you owe me…oh, I don't know…around sixty bucks." He patted me on the shoulder, and with a "Later, Sonny" he left.

"But you were the one who wanted to pay them!" I yelled after him, even though he was already gone. I sighed, and glared at the floor. "Impossible."

* * *

_A/N: This was kinda short. I guess it would be kind of a filler, because it really has no significant purpose in the future. I just wanted to show how Sonny has to suffer through this at first. The next one would be a filler too, I think, but it will show how Sonny is starting to relate to the kids more-without money. Anyways, please review!_

_Oh, and I didn't realize this, but Sonny started saying "Impossible" a lot towards the end about Chad. Lol, wouldn't it be funny if it would be her new word towards him, instead of "Good" or "Fine"? Haha, that would be cool. _

_Remember to check out me and Charley's story! Thanks! And review please :)  
_


	8. I'll Give You Two Breaths

_A/N: Okay, so this is going to get a little boring, I apologize for that. I think it's going to be short too, because it's a filler. But I promise, next chapter, there will be more interesting things happening, lol. This is just to show that Sonny's making progress and adjusting to this job. _

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**Urgurl1925, ChelseaBaby, sonny with a zebra shirt, readergirl12345, ChannyandSterlinglover1123, **

_And, even though these two have already been mentioned in previous chapters, I'd like to give them another shout-out and dedication. _**SWAC4Life**_ for a very sweet review and saying you'll mention me in your story. Thank you! And people, read her stories too! And _**timbermoonkiss**_ for the long review filled with critism. Lol, this may sound weird, but I loved it. Seriously, it helped a lot. It told me what you liked and didn't like, so thank you! _

_And anyone else who reads, but I don't know they do. Thank you!_

_Disclaimer: Still not getting it?! In the words of my favorite Sonny Munroe, Sonny Munroe, "Really, guys? Really?" I mean, I don't own Sonny With a Chance. Why do I have to keep asking me?!!! Stupid disclaimer. Moving on…_

_

* * *

_

7. I'll Give You Two Breaths

**CPOV:**

The next day I felt excited to go back to the pool to sucker Sonny again. Her reaction when I told her she owed me sixty bucks was priceless. Hey, she asked for my help, right? All I did was give it to her. I chuckled to myself as I approached the front gate.

I have to admit, visiting the pool was a lot more fun this year. Last year, I usually stopped by the pool to see Dean, and this year I keep telling myself that I'm stopping by to see him too. But I know that deep down, this was not the case. The real reason I'm stopping by is because of the bubbly brunette that happened to work there now. I loved to bother her and annoy her. Her reactions are always so funny, and they just urge me to continue teasing her.

Usually, I would dread going to work. I wasn't even supposed to be here. I was supposed to be filming the summer episodes of Mackenzie Falls, but since our producers were on a "business trip" also, they cancelled it. Of course my rich daddy was overjoyed to hear that I don't have filming this summer. He jumped at the chance to have me work at the hotel for the summer, and practically shoved me out the door on the first day here.

It's not that I don't enjoy coming here, I do-really. I mean, I come here every year, and I always have fun. I loved hanging out with my friends here. It's just that this year, my dad forced me to do something I'd never thought I'd do. He forced me to _work_. I shuddered at that thought. What kind of dad forces his famous teenage actor son to come to his hotel for the summer to _work_?

My dad thought I was getting too caught up in the fame business and wanted to bring me back to reality. He said I needed to get a sense of what an actual job feels like. Ugh. This is exactly like the Hannah Montana Movie. Now I know how Miley feels-speaking of which, I just realized that her and Hannah are the same person! Weird.

Anyways, the only good thing that came out of this _work_ thing was that I get to be co-manager with Ross-er, Mr. Holman. But that's not a problem, because I can boss everyone around here, _including_ Mr. Holman. He has no choice but to listen to me, since I'm the owner's son. I thought that that would be the only thing good about this…ugh…_job_. But when I found out Sonny's going to be working here…

Let's just say I enjoy bothering her-without getting in trouble for it, because now I actually have a _right_ to do so. She can't disobey me since my job is in a higher status than hers. So I decided that maybe this summer won't be so bad as long as I get to bother her everyday.

I loved the way I could annoy her so easily just by making my presence known. I knew she hated me, and to be honest, I'm not too fond of her either. The girl is seriously frustrating. She talks back to me, when she should be worshipping me. I thought the Randoms were bad, but when she joined their group, it got even worse. Sonny pounces at every chance to humiliate me and my cast, and probably thinks she's got the upper hand because Mr. Condor trusts _her_ more than _me_. Oh please. He's just falling for her innocent little act. And she thinks she can be in charge of me because Mr. Condor thinks she's more _responsible_. Please.

Well, little Sonny, look how the tables have turned. Now _I'm_ in charge of _her_, and _I _get to humiliate _her_ instead. Best of all, there's no Mr. Condor here to save her. This is my territory.

I walked in through the gates of the pool and saw my best friend talking to the brunette herself. They were both laughing about something, and I saw how flushed Sonny looked. Were they flirting? Gross. Although I can't help the strange uneasy feeling crawling up to me. Suddenly I had an urge to push my best friend into the pool.

I started towards them a little faster with my eyes narrowed. Sonny was giggling about something, and Dean was chuckling with her. The minute she saw me approach her, Sonny's smile faded and she glared at me. Dean must've saw her sudden change of expression, because he turned around with a confused expression to see what she was glaring at. When he saw that it was me, his face brightened and he smiled widely at me.

"Chad!" he greeted, slapping my back. I tried my best to keep from narrowing my eyes at him, but I was still feeling a little bit uneasy. My tone was terse as I answered him, and I wouldn't say I was looking at him in a friendly way either.

"Dean," I said curtly, teeth clenched. "What's up." I knew my best friend sensed something was wrong (of course, he's my best friend), because he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Uh…dude, is something wrong?" he asked me in concern.

I peered at him, trying to figure out if he's lying. He didn't _look_ like he's done anything wrong; just confused. I mentally slapped myself on the head. Of course he wouldn't look like he's guilty-because he's not! So what if he flirted with Sonny? That doesn't make him a criminal. I felt guilty for treating him so harshly when he didn't even do anything wrong. So my face softened, and when I spoke, it was a tone of casualty and nonchalant.

"Nothing, man," I assured him, gently patting his shoulder. "I was just thinking about something." Dean's face relaxed a bit, but you could still see the crease between his eyes.

"But you had your glaring face on," he pointed out. I smirked, and turned to Sonny.

"Yeah, I thought I saw an ogre, but it was just Sonny." I shrugged. "So it's nothing, Dean. I mean, you have to admit, she _does_ look remotely similar to an ogre." Sonny narrowed her eyes even further, and opened my mouth to say something. Dean interrupted her.

"Actually, I think she looks nothing like an ogre," Dean said. "A cute fairy, maybe, but definitely not an ogre." Sonny shut her mouth, and smiled at Dean while blushing. The uneasy feeling came back to me, and this time, it was accompanied by a weird feeling of rage.

I rolled my eyes and decided it was time to break them up from all of this disgusting flirting. I pulled on Dean's arm and dragged him towards the change rooms. "Come on, Dean. Don't you need to unlock the change rooms or something?"

"Actually I already-whoa…ugh…" Dean was cut off by my rough tugging of his collar. I dragged him to the change rooms, and slammed him against the wall.

"You know just because you're my best friend doesn't mean I still can't have you fired," I spat at him, narrowing my eyes. Dean chuckled and held up his hands as if to fend me off.

"Whoa, Chad. Okay, dude, what's wrong with you?" he said, with an amused expression that only made me want to hit him.

"What's with _you_ flirting with Sonny while you're supposed to be working? You're not supposed to be lying down on the job," I growled at him. Dean furrowed his brows, and tapped his chin, striking a thoughtful pose.

"Lying down?" Dean looked down at his feet, then swiveled around to look at his back. "Hmm…I'm not lying down. I'm standing up perfectly straight, thank you very much."

I rolled my eyes at his smart-atic comment. "It's an expression, Dean." Dean chuckled, and held up his hands in mock innocence.

"Look, Chad, I'm not flirting with Sonny." Dean now has a serious expression on his face, fading out of his funny demeanor. "She's cool and all…but I only liked her as a friend."

"Then why were you guys laughing?" I said, narrowing my eyes at him in accusation. Dean dropped his serious face, and went back to the amused expression on his face.

"Whoa, sorry, officer. I didn't know laughing was illegal here," he said, his eyes wide. Dean laughed, and shook his head before placing a hand on my shoulder. "What's with the sudden interest in Sonny?"

I glared at him and shook his hand off. "Who said anything about being interested in Sonny?" Dean smirked, and raised his eyebrows.

"Right. You practically shoved me in here before slamming me against the wall only to scold me for 'flirting'-" he held up his hands in quotations, "-and threatening to fire me, just because you _weren't_ interested in Sonny." Dean rolled his eyes, and I rolled mine too at his sarcastic comments. What was with him and his sarcasm today? He's not usually _this_ sarcastic.

"That's right." I crossed my arms over my chest, and put on an emotionless mask on my face. He knew when I did this pose, it meant I was serious…well, _most_ of the time. Dean scoffed, and rolled his eyes again.

"You obviously like her, Chad," Dean said. "I mean, I could see that you were ready to tackle me when you saw me 'flirting'." He made the quotations again when he said, "flirting".

"Actually, I wanted to push you into the pool," I muttered, staring at the floor. I hadn't realized I had said that out loud, and when my head shot up, I could see Dean smirking smugly. I shook my head at him, then pushed him roughly before throwing open the change room door. "And I don't like her," I called over my shoulder, although I don't think he heard me.

When I came out of the change room, I saw Sonny was already with her class. Surprisingly, they were listening intently to her and I could see them climb into the water. Hmm…Sonny must've bribed them again. I smirked, knowing the perfect way to tease her today.

I walked quickly to her little group with a wide smile on my face. It was annoy Sonny time.

**SPOV:**

After Chad and Dean went into the change room to do who knows what, it was already time for my class. I looked hesitantly towards the change room to see if Chad would be coming out. I didn't want him to come out yet and start bribing these kids again. I had already lost half of my paycheck for that day just because I had to pay Chad back.

I looked towards the change room, and then wondered why Chad looked so mad. I was the one who should be mad after he had called me an ogre. Stupid Chad. He was impossible.

But it seems he was mad at Dean, and not me. I wondered what Dean could have done to make his best friend so angry at him. I shook my head, and tried to focus on getting the kids to listen to me without bribing them. Then I had a thought. It wasn't a pretty thought, but it was a thought nonetheless. If I wanted them to listen to me without me having to waste any money, I would have to trick them. I mean, despite their brilliant minds and attitude, they were still just kids, right? Surely they won't be that hard to trick.

I clapped my hands together, and they listened intently to what I was going to say. "Okay guys," I started. "If you listen to me again, you'll each get ten dollars again like last time. How's that sound?"

All the kids cheered and nodded except for Bianca. She just peered suspiciously at me, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you sure you'll pay us?"

"Of course I will," I lied. "I paid you yesterday, didn't I?"

"No, that was the blonde guy," she said.

"Actually, he used _my_ money. So it was me," I retorted, glaring at her. "Do you want the money or not?" Bianca narrowed her eyes at me, and hesitated before shaking her head. I looked at her in surprise.

"I want to talk to the blonde guy," she declared. "He can fire you if you don't keep your promise. _And_ we'll need witnesses." How old is this girl really? She was just too smart for her own good.

I sighed in defeat, and gave up with the whole tricking thing. "Alright, brats. I wasn't going to pay you. Chad ripped sixty bucks off me! I am _not _spending that much money on little brats like you. Can't you just listen to me for once _without_ the money? Please?"

"I knew it," Bianca said, smirking. "And, no. No cash, no class. Come on, guys."

"Yeah, especially after you called us _brats_," Michael agreed, nodding firmly. They all started towards the exit, and I ran in front of them to block their way.

"Stop! You're not going anywhere!" I yelled, frustrated.

"Having trouble, Sonny?" a smug voice said. I looked up to see Chad standing behind the kids. "Nothing a little cash won't fix. Right, kids?" He held up the money in his hands, and I glared at him.

"Right…" the kids answered. I stomped over to him, and grabbed the pile of money in his hands, still glaring at him while doing so.

"Hey!" Chad said, trying to get the money back. I held it behind my back so he can't reach it. Chad smirked at me, and I knew a conceited comment was coming. He turned to the kids, and pointed at me before saying, "See, kids? That's what happens when you're poor and desperate for money." The kids snickered, and I slapped Chad's arm.

"Stop it," I scolded. I pulled him away from the kids and talked quietly so they can't hear me. "Chad, I don't want to bribe them anymore. I want them to listen to me for _me_, not because I pay them."

Chad scoffed. "Good luck with that. I can see how well they're listening to you right now." He jerked his head towards my students, who were running around the pool, and flinging flutter boards at each other like the first day here. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Looks like you could use the money right now…" Chad taunted, pointing to the pile of money in my hands. I rolled my eyes, and smacked him again.

"No. I'm going to do this even _without_ money," I said firmly.

"Alright then." Chad shrugged, and sat down in one of the pool chairs. He linked his arms behind his head, and smirked. I peered at him suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Watching the show," he answered. I was about to ask, "what show" but then I heard a crack coming from behind me. I turned around to see Michael holding a broken flutter board, and standing sheepishly there. My eyes widened, and I stalked towards him.

"What happened?" I asked him. His head was hung low as he showed me the broken flutter board that was split right down the middle.

"Bianca said that I wasn't strong, but I said I was. Then she said to prove it, so I broke this thing in half to prove it to her." Michael stuck his tongue out at Bianca, who rolled her eyes. "Told you so."

I gaped at him with my mouth hung open in shock. "Wha-how…?" How could a little kid break this in half, when _I _can't even do it? I looked over to see Chad laughing his head off.

"Great job, Mike," he praised. Michael beamed at his cousin's praise. "Come here, man. High five." Chad held up his hand, and Michael went over to him and slapped his hand. I glared at him, but I still couldn't help but wonder how he broke it.

"Michael, how did you break it?" I asked him, my brows furrowing. Michael shrugged.

"I don't know. With my hands?" he said. This only made it more confusing. There's no way he'd be able to break that board in half. It's just not possible.

"Who cares how he did it. The point is, he did it," Chad said. "Good job, buddy." I was getting frustrated with Chad right now, and his it's-all-cool-so-just-chill attitude.

"Chad, can you shut up?" I said wearily. He laughed in response.

"It's your fault you wouldn't pay them," he said. "I mean, I know you poor people would-" He didn't get to finish his sentence because I had thrown one half of the flutter board at him.

"Ow!" he cried out as it hit his head. I giggled, and stuck my tongue out at him.

"That's what you get," I muttered, smiling smugly. I turned back to the class, and ushered them in to start my lesson. "Okay, guys. You won't be getting paid, but can you just-"

The kids didn't even give me a chance to finish because they had already dispersed-actually, they pretty much left when I said the words, "you won't be getting paid". I sighed, and closed my eyes, trying to think of a way I can do this. There has got to be some way I could get them to listen to me, without having to bribe them…

Why was this so hard? When I baby-sat the kids and dogs, _they_ all listened to me. Of course, they were my cousins, so they didn't hate me at all. And plus, I've been with them since...like..._forever_, so it doesn't really count. I took a deep breath, and tried one more time before I officially gave up on them.

"Okay. That's it," I said, causing them to stop whatever they were doing to turn to me. "Why can't we all be nice to each other? I mean, seriously, what's so bad about swimming?"

"Nothing," Bianca answered. I gave her a confused look.

"Then why won't you listen to me?" I asked her.

"It's not the swimming we don't like," she explained, then narrowed her eyes at me. "It's the teacher."

I heard hysterical laughter behind me, and I saw Chad standing there, clutching his stomach. I glared at him. I've really had enough of him. I pushed him into the pool and I could hear his laughter cease as he went underwater. I smirked, and then pretended to look worried.

"Oh my gosh!" I cried loudly, attracting everyone's attention. "Chad Dylan Cooper just fell into the water! _I'll _save him!" Chad had just come out now, spluttering water everywhere, and waving his hands frantically. I dove in the water and pulled him ashore. He scrambled out of the pool just like he had done the night of the prank.

He was shivering as he collapsed on the floor, coughing. I smirked at him secretly before putting on a concern face for the public. "Are you okay?"

He spat out some water in his mouth, and sat up to glare at me. "No! _You_ were the one who pu-" I clamped his mouth shut, and pushed him back down on the ground.

"I'll give you two breaths!" I said, leaning down to put my mouth over his.

"What? No! Sonny! I-" My lips brushed his, and he pushed me away. "What are you doing?!"

I feigned a look of hurt. "I save your life and this is how you repay me?" Everyone who had come and watched were nodding in agreement with me, and shaking their heads at Chad's behavior.

"What an ungrateful boy," a grandma said, clicking her tongue.

"Yes, she's just trying to save his life," another one added, nodding her head. Then she walked over to Chad, and slapped his cheek. "Shame on you." I bit my lip to hold back a giggle.

The first grandma slapped his other cheek after that. "That is no way to treat a lady. Especially one who just saved your life." Then she turned to me with a sweet smile on her face. "Good job, dear. Keep doing what you're doing. Ignore his terrible behavior."

I nodded, and bowed my head sadly. "He's always treated me like this. I was just trying to help." The crowd of people sucked in a breath, and I could hear them murmur a few words of sympathy.

The grandma who had smiled at me slapped Chad again. "Stupid boy. Go apologize."

Chad's eyes widened. "But I-"

The grandma slapped him again. "I said, apologize!" I pressed my lips together at Chad's reaction.

Chad looked utterly defeated, and turned to me with a glare. "Sorry," he mumbled; teeth clenched.

"What was that, son? I didn't hear," the grandma said. I bit my lip so hard, there must be teeth marks on my bottom lip now. This was really amusing to me, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel bad for Chad. Well, it was his fault he laughed at me.

"I'm sorry!" he said louder, although it came out more as a whine. The grandma smiled triumphantly, and nodded.

"Good," she said. "Now don't let it happen again."

"Yes, ma'am," Chad said quietly, nodding his head. I turned my face away so I couldn't see his face. This was just too funny for words. I wanted to laugh so badly, but I knew I'd blow my cover if I did.

Thankfully, the grandma left, and so did the rest of the crowd. As soon as they were out of hearing range, I burst out laughing. I even fell to the ground, clutching my stomach while laughing hysterically.

Chad was pouting and glaring, and giving me a strange look all at the same time. "I hate you," he finally said. I stopped laughing long enough to sit up and look at him.

"It's your fault you laughed at me," I replied, trying my best to keep my voice even. My body was still shaking with my silent laughter.

"I could've actually drowned," he said.

"That would never happen," I told him. "I'll never let you drown. If I did, then it would be murder."

"Yeah, I know how much you'd _hate_ for me to die," he replied bitterly. Then his head shot up to look at me. "Admit it. You've had it out for me the moment we've met."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Chad. I've had it out for you since we've met. That's why I dressed up as a waitress. No one would ever suspect a waitress would be the one to kill Chad Dylan Cooper."

Apparently, he didn't catch the sarcasm in my tone, because he smiled triumphantly at me. "I knew it!" I rolled my eyes again.

"Chad, you know I would never let you drown, right?" I wanted to make sure he knew that-why would I ever want him to die? As much as I hate to admit it, if he died, my life would be boring.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know."

I smiled. "Good."

"Besides, it's not like you can help it," he added. I gave him a confused look, so he continued, "You just wanted to kiss me."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Chad smirked. "You wanted to kiss me. Admit it, Sonny. That's why you pushed me into the water-so you can rescue me with mouth-to-mouth afterwards."

"Are you mental?" I snapped at him.

"You were close to kissing me, but I pushed you away." He _is_ mental. "Come on, Sonny. Even _I_ know you're not supposed to give someone two breaths unless they're not breathing. You knew I was breathing, and you were about to give me two breaths anyways."

How the heck did we end up here? One minute we were talking about me killing him, and now we're talking about me _kissing_ him. I glared at him, and gritted my teeth. "I was trying to keep you from saying anything, stupid."

"You could've just put your hand over my mouth. But _no_, you were too tempted to kiss me." I didn't say anything-I couldn't! I was just too angry beyond words. So instead, I played along with him.

I crawled over to him and smiled seductively. "Yes, Chad. You caught me. I _do_ want to kiss you."

He smirked, and leaned closer to me. "I know. You've been in love with me since you've met me. You just can't help it."

I shook my head, smiling. "No. I really can't help it-" Chad's smirk widened, "-I really can't help it if I push you into the water again." Before he could get a word out, I had pushed him back into the water.

"Oh my gosh! Chad Dylan Cooper fell into the water-_again_!" I shouted. Chad's head was bobbing in and out of the water, and he was coughing and spitting out water.

People were staring at him now, and they were all panicking. "Not again!" the grandma said, coming up behind me. "Why is he so clumsy?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. That's just how he is," Then I paused, and looked back at Chad, then back to the grandma. "Should I go help him again? Won't he be ungrateful like last time?"

The grandma nodded. "Yeah, he probably will. Eh, just leave him like that. Someone will get him out eventually." She waved her hand dismissively to Chad, and I nodded, agreeing with her.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. I walked back to my students who were laughing at Chad right now. The crowd dispersed when they saw nothing interesting was going on. I giggled when Dean came running frantically to Chad and pulled him out. Chad was shaking, and he was soaking wet. I smirked and waved at him.

I saw Dean wrap a towel around him and guide him to the change room. He ducked inside, but not before giving me one final glare. I was all too familiar with that look. I've seen it so many times at work. It was a look that meant, "Oh, it's _on_, Monroe." I returned it with a look of my own; he has to know me better than that. I wouldn't give up so easily, and I don't get intimidated that easily either. If he's going to take revenge on me, then he'd better be sure that I'll do the same to him. Oh, it's _on_, Cooper.

"Help! Help!" a high-pitched scream interrupted me from my thoughts. I whirled around to face my students. They were all staring at the water, and I couldn't help but think one of them is missing. Let's see...Michael, Amy, Joseph, Paul, Sarah...they're all here. Wait. Except for...

"Bianca!" I cried, as I saw her in the middle of the pool, flapping her arms frantically. "Don't worry! I'm coming!" I dove in the water, and pulled her safely out. She was coughing as she crawled out. I took a towel, and wrapped it around her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. Her eyes were wide, and her face was pale. She was breathing heavily-almost panting. If she kept this up, she'll hyperventilate. I knew she was terrified; the feeling you get when you know you're almost going to drown, and not be able to breath, cannot be put into words.

I rubbed the towel against her, and tried to calm her down. "Shh...it's alright. You're safe now," I said softly. Then she did something I never thought she would. She started crying. I pulled her close to me, and she buried her face in my chest as she sobbed.

"I-I...I couldn't...b-breathe..." she whispered, in between sobs. I rubbed her back in a comforting gesture, and whispered soothing words to her.

"I know," I said quietly. "It's alright. Shh...you're safe now..." I turned my attention to the group of kids who looked just as frightened as her. Of course they were. They'd just witnessed someone almost drowning. I motioned to them to come and sit with me, and they sat down around me. Together, we huddled together to comfort one another. "It's alright. You're going to be okay...shh..."

I rubbed each of their backs, but mostly Bianca's because she suffered the most. Then I turned to Michael. "What happened?"

He looked worried and scared when he answered in a quivery voice, "S-She slipped and fell...are w-we going to not breathe like her?"

I shook my head. "No, you're not. That won't happen."

"Promise?" he asked quietly; his eyes almost pleading.

"Promise." I smiled reassuringly at him, and then said quietly to all of them, "You see, guys? This is what happens when you don't know how to swim. If you don't learn now, you'll end up like Chad. Do you want to end up like Chad?" They all shook their heads. I pulled Bianca away from my body, and wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She avoided looking at me, and I lifted her chin up.

"Bianca. This is why it's so important you learn how to swim," I told her in a gentle voice. "There won't always be lifeguards everywhere you go to help you. You need to learn how to swim so that you can take care of yourself in the water. What do you say? Want to give swimming another go?" I had started talking to her, but then ended up asking the whole class. They all nodded, and I continued, "Will you guys listen to me this time?"

"Yes," the answered in unison.

"Promise?" I asked them.

"Promise."

"Okay." I clapped my hands and started to stand up. "Well, we don't have time now because it's time to go. But tomorrow, okay?"

They all nodded, and I sent them off one by one. Bianca was still lingering around and I asked her what she wanted. "We're going to be in the shallow end, right?" She looked so scared and helpless-not at all the Bianca I had come to think her of.

I nodded, and tucked a strand of her wet hair in place. "Yes, we're going to be in the shallow end; promise. Don't worry, Bianca. We'll take it nice and slow. Alright?"

She nodded, and started to leave, but turned back to me with a small, genuine smile on her face. "Thanks, Sonny."

I smiled at her. "Anytime."

* * *

_A/N: Wow. I thought it was going to be short, but it ended up being really long! That's weird. Anyways...yaaay! She finally has the class under her control now! The next chapter-no more pool stuff. I'm tired of it, lol. There will be Channy though! That's one thing I'll never get tired of :) Review!_

_And can you guys do me a favor and check out _**SWAC4Life**_'s story, _**"My Heart Will Go On"**_? Please check it out if you haven't already, because it's soo good! So please read it! Thaanks :)_


	9. What Are You Drinking?: Part 1

_A/N: Sorry for the late update. As I've mentioned in my other story, I've been busy with moving and stuff. So sorry for that. Plus, also, I've got a new book called "The Mortal Instruments" series. And it's awesome!!! I got the first book, "City of Bones" and I'm dying to get the next one. Okay, that wasn't necessary information, but that's what's holding me back from writing, lol. Nevertheless, I'm back with a very long chapter that I hope makes up for the delay, and I hope you like this. _

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**blackberryboo, catzeyez, lalawriter2000, JazzyLuvsU, **** channy1441997, Mawoh, stacie619, wacogirl16, **_and to my anonymous reviewers_**, Hazelnut299 (), channy4ever () **_(even though i think you already reviewed. thanks for the idea! i'll use it later on in the story)_**,**

_And anyone else. Thank you!_

_Disclaimer: What's this doing here? Didn't I tell you already? Why do you guys keep coming on my back? Yeesh. I don't own Sonny With a Chance, okay?

* * *

_

8. What Are You Drinking?

(Part 1)

**SPOV:**

"No, Alex," I told my new friend firmly as she held up yet _another_ set of clothes for me to wear. "I'm not going."

Alex pouted unhappily, but tossed the clothes aside, and sat down next to me on my bed. "Why _not_?"

"I'll be busy studying," I answered, then went back to reading my book. Alex had told me that every year, the teenagers of the hotel has a welcome party of their own-except ours is more crazy. She invited me to come, but I told her I couldn't go because I had to study. If I was going to get into a good college, I'd have to start studying now, right? I hardly have any time to study at night when I get back from work every day. If I go to this party now, I'll skip out on more time to study. I couldn't go; no matter how much I wanted to.

"Sonny, I'm glad you're not a freak or anything," Alex said, "but you're a bore. Liven up a bit. You're away at work with _no parental supervision_, and you spend the night _studying_?"

"That's right," I said, as I flipped the page of my textbook. Alex grabbed the book out of my hands and tossed it aside somewhere. "Alex! Give it back!"

Alex crossed her arms over her chest, and blocked me from getting the book. "It's going to be _so_ much fun. Please, Sonny? It'll be no fun without you there."

I sighed. "Alex, you have tons of friends already-"

"No I don't!" She protested, and I gave her a look.

"I saw you talk to a bunch of people at the first welcome party."

She waved her hand airily. "Those are just some co-workers."

I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't matter. You still could have fun with them."

"No I won't," she insisted. "Please, Sonny? Please come. It'll be fun, trust me. Besides, it'll be your chance to start fresh, and get to know people better."

"Start fresh?" I asked, confused.

Alex smirked. "The red hot peppers?"

I made a face. "Oh, right. Well, I bet everyone still remembers."

"No they won't." Alex pulled on my arm, and I didn't resist this time-partly because in the few days I've met Alex, I knew that when she wanted something, she'll stop at nothing to get it. So there really wasn't any point of me resisting. I knew I was going to that party no matter what.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll go-_but_…" I added quickly, before Alex started getting all excited. "I'm bringing my book."

Her shoulders drooped and she made a face before giving in. "Ugh. Alright, if it makes you come to the party, fine."

With that, she pushed me into the bathroom, and threw a bunch of clothes in my direction for me to wear. I shut the bathroom door, and was just about to put it on, but stopped when I saw it. My eyes widened in horror when I saw what Alex had given me.

"Alex!" I shouted through the door. "I can't wear this!"

"Why not?" I heard her whine.

"It's too revealing!" Really, this was ridiculous. Why couldn't she see that it was too revealing for me? The skirt was barely a skirt; it was more like a piece of denim underwear to me.

"Oh, hush up," Alex called back. "You better put it on before I tear that door down, and put it on you myself. Trust me, Sonny. You'll look great."

I groaned, but I knew nothing could change her mind. So I gingerly put the clothes on, and took a look at myself in the mirror. I had on a green v-neck top that stretched down a _lot_ more than I wanted it to, revealing a lot more too. The top was made of silk, I'm guessing, because it was so soft on my skin and hugged it perfectly. If only there wasn't so much cleavage; I would've really liked the top because it _did _look good on me.

The skirt, however, I wasn't so sure about. It was a short, _short_, denim mini skirt that showed off my legs and I felt really uncomfortable in it. I kept trying to pull it down, but since the top didn't cover much either, it showed my stomach every time I pulled the skirt down.

Alex had me wear a black high heeled shoe that I _know_ I'll trip on. I tried walking around in the bathroom a bit, but even there I was wobbling on my feet.

"Alex!" I whined again. "I can't wear this! There's absolutely no way I'm wearing this."

"Yes you are!" was her stubborn response. She started banging on the door, and I was afraid she really _would_ break it down. "Open up, Sonny! Or, so be it, I will break this door down."

I sighed and unlocked the door. When she saw me, Alex smiled; her eyes lighting up. "You look awesome!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't. I look like a stripper."

Alex snorted, and pushed me to the mirror. "Gosh, Sonny. I've dressed much worse than this, and you're calling a simple outfit like _that_ a _stripper_?"

"Yes! Alex, can I _please_ take this off and just wear some jeans?" I was already aching to go to my closet and slip on my favorite pair of jeans; jeans that hug my legs, and cover them from the eyes of prying men.

But Alex wasn't having it. "No! Now if you're really uncomfortable-"

"I _am_!"

"Then I'll get you some tights to wear underneath." She pushed past me, and started digging in her closet. I groaned and slammed my head to the wall. Alex came back with some black tights, which she threw at me. I caught them, and slid it on my legs. It was still uncomfortable, but I thought it was better than nothing. "There. Happy?"

I shook my head. "Not really. What about my shirt?"

Alex looked down at my shirt and gave me a blank look. "What about it?"

I motioned to my chest and gave Alex a 'duh' look. "Too much cleavage." She rolled her eyes again, and went to her closet to retrieve something. She came back and threw me a lacy black camisole to put underneath. I slipped it on, and stared at myself. It still showed cleavage, and the camisole didn't cover everything.

"It's still showing some," I said to Alex, looking at her through the mirror.

Alex rolled her eyes. "If you want to cover _everything_, I'll get you a turtleneck."

I smirked. "That would be nice."

"Come on, Sonny," she said, ushering me out of the bathroom to sit on my bed. "You look great. Have some fun."

I sighed. "Alright. I'll try." I supposed she _was_ right; did I really want to spend all of my summer studying all the time? I was sixteen years old, and I'm only going to be sixteen for a while. I should make it count, right?

"Great!" she chirped, then went to the bathroom to get her straightener. "Now. Let's do your hair and makeup."

- OOO -

The party was buzzing with excitement when we got there. This time, though, it wasn't held at the hotel party room. It was held at Chelsea's house. I couldn't imagine my parents ever letting me have a party at my house. I think they'd just die if I asked.

Chelsea's home was huge-as expected. The minute we drove up to the front porch, I knew she had to be rich. The front of the house-or should I call it mansion?-was white. If you looked up, there appeared to have about a hundred windows. I wondered how many rooms there were.

We drove in through the front gate-yes, there's a gate-and parked in her parking lot-yes, there's a parking lot. It was like a typical clichéd rich home you would see in movies. Instead of having one front door, there were two on each side of the house. I thought how tiring it must be to have to run back and forth from one door to the other when you're having a party like this. But as I stepped inside, I saw that two men were standing at the door, both dressed in black and white uniforms-the customary uniform for a butler.

As soon as you stepped inside, you'd see a huge set of stairs in the middle, and an even bigger chandelier hanging at the top. Everyone was mingling around, but the _real_ party room was the room right behind the stairs. It was like a ballroom in the old times, but made into something a little more modern. The walls were painted a sort of pink-red, and there was a band perched on the stage playing some kind of music I didn't know, but sounded familiar.

Suddenly, the music stopped and one of the butlers told us to gather around the stairs. He announced Chelsea's arrival, and there was some kind of music to match her arrival. It was like you were announcing a princess entering the room, and suddenly you'd hear trumpets blazing. But there were no trumpets this time.

Chelsea stood at the top of the stairs with a smug and proud look on her face. She was, as always, as beautiful as ever. Tonight she was wearing a red dress-not too formal, not too casual for the occasion-that hung low down her chest, and came very short-more than a few inches above her knee. It was very tight, and clung to her body perfectly. Her thin waist had a black belt wrapped around it-as if the dress wasn't tight enough-that matched her black pumps. Her hair was tied into a sleek ponytail that cascaded beautifully down her back. I think she chose the red dress because of her hair; whatever the reason, she chose the right dress. Her red hair matched the redness of the dress perfectly, and she looked like a goddess. Even the way she walked down the stairs was graceful.

Chelsea held her arms out and smiled, showing off her perfect white teeth. "Welcome everyone, to my annual welcome party. Thank you all _so_ much for coming. I hope you're enjoying yourselves?"

Everyone murmured their response and Chelsea smiled. "Good. Now, let's get back to partying, shall we?" The way she was talking was like the way those people talk in the medieval world. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a horse and prince somewhere here to whisk her away at the end of the night.

Chelsea immediately got her hands on a dark haired boy who looked pretty cute, and they headed off to the dance floor. I stood there gaping for a minute, because all she did was go up to the boy, and he asked her to dance. She didn't even flirt with him; she didn't even say one word to him. It must be her clothes and beauty.

Suddenly I felt a little self-conscious about my clothes. I caught a glance at my reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall behind me. Alex had twirled my hair, so that it had a sort of wavy look to it. She also made it look soft and…well, perfect. For the makeup, it wasn't anything too formal. Just a simple dark eye shadow and mascara to make my eyes look bigger, and some red lipstick for my lips. She didn't put any blush because she knew I'd do a fine job of that myself. When we left the hotel, gazing at my appearance, I felt a new burst of confidence in me, loving what Alex had done to me. But now, I just felt like a fool compared to Chelsea. I felt like someone who was trying to be pretty, but not succeeding at all.

Worse, the clothes were making me even more comfortable, when all of the guys started gawking at my body. I slipped on the black leather jacket I'd convinced Alex to bring, and walked around the house, trying to find a quiet place for me to stay in until the party was over. Most of the rooms were locked, and I didn't have the guts to go upstairs, because I knew it'd be rude. So I went to the dance room, took a seat at the corner, and took out my book and started reading.

Alex was already at the dance floor, surprisingly, with Dean. I smiled when I saw that she was having so much fun. I had to admit, she was very pretty-probably not model or goddess-like as Chelsea is, but definitely prettier than me. Her black hair was curled, falling softly down her shoulders. She wore a strapless dark blue dress that came just above her knees, and blue high heels. Her eye makeup was sort of the same as mine, but her lips were painted with pink lip gloss, instead of red lipstick. She had sort of an innocent look to her, yet at the same time wild. I was jealous at how great she could pull that look off; the way she could be nice and naughty at the same time. Sometimes I wished I could do that.

Dean was also dressed great tonight-better than I've ever seen him look before. His hair was the same curly brown mush as before, but I could tell he had combed it a bit to look neater. Instead of his usual t-shirt and khakis, he wore a long-sleeved, dark blue collared shirt, with some white striped patterns on it. He had the collar down, and the first two buttons undone, revealing a white shirt underneath. The black pants he was wearing made him look taller than usual, and also made him look older-but in a good way. Before, he had a cute-childish look to him, but now he looked more grown-up. The way he was looking at Alex was the same way my parents looked at each other. He, too, looked like he was having the time of his life dancing with her.

I glanced back at my book, and just when I was getting to a good part, a girl tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up and saw that she had shoulder-length blonde hair, and was also very pretty. I frowned. Was everyone here good-looking? It was like every guy here was hot, and every girl was extremely beautiful-except for me, of course.

"Do you know where all the snacks went?" she asked me, a line forming in the middle of her forehead as she frowned.

"Excuse me?" I stuttered.

"The snacks," she repeated, and pointed to the snack table beside me. Well, what was left of it. Now it was just a table with a bunch of empty trays with tiny crumbs on it. Even the juice glasses were empty.

"No, sorry," I answered. "I don't know where they went." _Probably in people's stomachs; try looking there._

"Well, do you know where I can get some more?" she asked. I shook my head, and the girl huffed. "That sucks. I'm hungry. If the witch wasn't too busy smooching guys over there, she might have time for her _other _guests around here-like me. What kind of hosts doesn't serve their guests food?" So apparently, she hated Chelsea too. I wondered if anyone was really here because they liked Chelsea. It was kind of sad to know that everyone only came for her party, and was basically using her. At least _I_ didn't even want to go if it weren't for my annoying roommate.

"So what are you reading?" the girl asked, flopping down on a chair beside me.

"Uh…textbook," I answered, and then added, "For school."

She laughed. "I was like that last year. Don't sweat it; you'll do fine. College isn't that bad."

"It's the getting _into_ college part that I'm worried about," I answered with a smile.

The girl nodded and laughed again. "Oh, I know. Trust me, you'll make it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because that's what happened to me," she answered, shrugging. "Someone who dedicates her time studying at a party will definitely make it to college." I nodded and smiled at her, feeling a bit reassured at her words. "I'm Erica."

"Sonny," I said, extending a hand to her, which she gladly shook. "So I'm guessing you're only here for the party, and not Chelsea?"

Erica snorted. "Everyone is. Whoever comes for Chelsea is either blind, or stupid. Or both."

I laughed. Erica glanced around the room and frowned. I looked at what she was frowning at but just saw Chelsea with another guy. This one had light brown hair that swept over his forehead, and a really nice smile. I wondered again if everyone at this hotel was so good-looking.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, leaning forward. Erica glared at Chelsea.

"The witch," she said, shaking her head. "That's my boyfriend." I looked back at the two, and saw Chelsea was running her hand up and down the boy's arm. They were standing really close together, and I could tell by his expression, that the boy didn't like it. He looked really uncomfortable, and probably wished he could be anywhere but there.

"He won't cheat on you, right?" I asked Erica. She shook her head, still glaring at Chelsea.

"No, he won't do that," she said. "He hates her as much as everyone else. I told her to stay away, but…" She didn't need to continue for me to know that Chelsea obviously didn't listen to her. Erica's eyes narrowed even more than I think it could, when Chelsea began to pull the boy closer to her. The boy was trying to get away, and pushing her back, but she was pretty strong.

"That's it," Erica said between clenched teeth, getting up to confront Chelsea. She almost knocked down her chair in her rage as she marched towards the two. I didn't want them to fight, so I came along, just in case there was going to be a fight. Erica had pushed Chelsea out of the way, and I could see the boy had relaxed a bit. Now, he was glaring at Chelsea as Erica screamed at her. Still, he didn't move from his place behind Erica; his hands on her waist. It was almost as if he was afraid of Chelsea.

"I told you to stay away from him," Erica was saying.

"I was just having a little fun." Chelsea smirked and winked at the boy, who looked like he was about to throw up. "Right, Paul?"

Paul made a face and leaned down to Erica. "I-I'm going to the guys," I heard him whisper in her ear, before planting a kiss on her cheek. I think he was trying really hard not to run across the room to his friends, but he did walk fast there.

"Paul doesn't want you, Chelsea," Erica seethed, her blue eyes piercing into Chelsea's green ones. "No one does."

"Aw, boo," Chelsea feigned a look of hurt, and then smiled wickedly. "He will, my naïve little friend, he will." She pushed past Erica and went to the first boy she danced with to start flirting with him. Erica was red with anger, but I could see in her eyes she was a bit worried too. Who wouldn't be? Chelsea was a knock out, and every guy would want to date someone like her. I knew how inferior Erica must be feeling about herself.

I went up to her and rubbed her shoulder in an effort to calm her. "It's alright, Erica. Don't listen to her. I saw Paul's face. There's no way he'd like her."

She looked up at me with a half smile on her face. "Thanks. You know, when people say celebrities are usually some spoiled brats in real life? They're wrong." I smiled at her, knowing she was talking about me.

"Thanks." We went back to our seats, and Paul and his group of friends came up to us. He sat down in a seat beside Erica and put his arms around her, whispering something to her ear, making her laugh. I wished I had someone to hold me like that. I've never actually been in a relationship; all my life I've been put into acting school, and tried my best for school-even though I wasn't really good at math. I guess I've never took the time to settle down, and just have fun because I was always working.

"Sonny. Let me introduce you to everyone," Erica said, her neck on Paul's shoulder. There was a light brown-haired girl with small freckles on her cheek. She looked cute, and was short, making her look younger than she probably really is. "This is Julie. She's Paul's little sister." Now that Erica had said this, I could sort of see the resemblance; same brown hair, same brown eyes, same nose, same lips. The only difference was that Paul towered over her, while she stood like an elf compared to him.

"And this is her boyfriend, Ray." Ray looked like your average type guy; short chestnut colored hair and brown eyes that, in the light, almost looked red. He was just a bit taller than Julie, but not as tall as her brother.

"And this is Caitlyn, and her boyfriend, Evan." Did everyone have a boyfriend but me? Caitlyn, too, looked pretty. In fact, she might actually be as pretty as Chelsea. But the difference was that Caitlyn had a nicer and sweet pretty look to her, while Chelsea had a wild untamed pretty look. Caitlyn had long strawberry-blonde curly hair that went down to her waist. She had wide, topaz eyes, and full pink lips. She was tall and slender, looking as poised as a model would. Her boyfriend's arm was wrapped around her waist affectionately, but she didn't seem to notice, or return the movement.

Evan had jet-black hair with piercing blue eyes that reminded me of a certain teen heartthrob's eyes, making me suddenly look around the party to see if he was there. To my surprise, I felt a sudden wave of disappointment when I didn't see him anywhere. Evan was taller than Caitlyn by only a few inches, since she's wearing heels, and looked pretty fit to me. He had broad, wide shoulders, and a strong jaw line that framed his face perfectly. His lips were in a straight, thin line, and he looked pretty grim and sad-not sad, just grim. Maybe it was to make him look a bit more intimidating. But by the way he was hugging Caitlyn so close to his body, he didn't look like the type of guy who'd get in a fight. He did, however, look like the type of guy who was madly in love with Caitlyn from the way he was looking at her. This only reminded me even more of how I _don't_ have someone to look at or hold me like that.

I greeted them all with a simple, "Hi", not knowing what else to say, really. Caitlyn took a sip of her drink, and set it down on the empty snack table. She had to stretch a bit because Evan was still holding her, but he didn't let go. She didn't seem to mind that, and when she returned, she placed her arms on top of Evan's that were on her waist. He seemed delighted by this movement, and smirked, placing his head on her shoulder.

"Where's your boyfriend, Sonny?" Caitlyn asked, looking around the party to find my "boyfriend".

I blushed. "Oh, I don't have a boyfriend." Caitlyn stopped looking around and stared at me with wide eyes in disbelief. I noticed every other girl was giving me the same look. The guys didn't care that much; I'm guessing they were too busy enjoying themselves, wrapping their arms around their girls.

"What?" she said. "How come?"

I shrugged, and took a sip of water. "I don't have time, I guess…" Caitlyn's eyes widened again, and then she gave me a confused look.

"So…you're not dating Chad Dylan Cooper?" she asked in a small voice. I stared at her in surprise, and laughed-almost choking myself with water.

"No…where did you get that?" I asked, laughing. Caitlyn shrugged, making Evan's head bop up and down from the movement.

"I don't know," Caitlyn said. "Magazines and stuff. Plus, Chad talks about you so much when he's here, so I thought…"

"What does he talk about?" I asked, now curious. Surely, it could've been something like, "Sonny is so annoying. Plus, her show isn't nearly as good as mine."

"He said your two sets were right beside each other, and that means you get to see each other every day. He said you guys usually bicker with each other, but he seemed happy about it-he was smiling, that's for sure. He also said you have the prettiest hair he's ever seen and the brightest and most beautiful smile too. He said you could always light up a room when you come in, and make everyone laugh-even him. He said-"

"What?" I interrupted her, shock. "There's no way he'd say that. We hate each other." Now it was Caitlyn's turn to look shocked.

"_Really_?" she asked. "I would've never guessed. He never said anything about hating each other…he's said some stuff about you being annoying and stuff, but he never said 'hate'. And even if he talks about how annoying you are, he never says it in a _bad_ way. He'll always smile."

"Caitlyn, that's ridiculous. Chad was unhappy to find me working here."

Caitlyn opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Then a slow smile crept to her face. "Oh, well, I guess I was wrong. Maybe he talks about you because he _does_ hate you."

"Of course. What else could it be?" I didn't expect anyone to answer, and no one did, but when I asked that rhetorical question, Caitlyn had a huge grin on her face.

"I don't know," she said absentmindedly. "Hey, look! They're doing karaoke!" She pointed to the stage, where a boy was trying to sing-really badly, I might add. I knew Caitlyn had changed the subject on purpose, but I didn't know why. So instead, I turned my attention to the stage where the poor boy was getting booed by the crowd.

When he was done, no one applauded him, and I felt kind of sorry for him. But as he went down the steps, he didn't look upset at all-instead, he looked pretty smug. I watched as he approached a group of boys, and high-five them. I wondered if he sang badly on purpose. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up to see a man dressed in a suit, with a mike in his hand.

"Who will be our next victim? Unless there are volunteers in the crowd?" the man searched for any sign of hands in the crowd, but no one raised their hands. He shrugged and turned to me. "Okay then. I guess you're the next victim." My eyes widened, and I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"No, I don't think…I-I can't sing-"

"Yeah, yeah. You can't sing, you're sick, you're tired," he interrupted, rolling his eyes. "I've heard it all before. Now, come on, get up there."

"But-"

"Come on, Sonny! You can do it!" I heard Alex's voice from all the way across the room, cheering me on. She pumped her fist in the air, and started clapping her hands. This caused my new friends to join along with her, and pretty much the entire room was cheering for me to get on stage. I bet they wouldn't be so eager, if it were _them_ going on stage, not me.

Eventually, the man had managed to push me up the stage, and handed the mike to me. I glanced nervously at the audience, who were waiting patiently for me to sing. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm myself down.

"What song?" the DJ asked me.

"Um…" I whispered the name of the song in his ear, and he gave me a strange, amused, look, but started the song. I brought the mike to my mouth, and started to sing:

"_We are family; I got all my sisters with me._

_We are family, get up everybody and sing."_

I heard chuckles of laughter from the audience, and for a while, everyone was giving me strange looks as to why I picked that song. The truth is, I didn't know why either. It was the first thing that came to my mind. Everyone was just staring at me, as I stood there on the stage, and I realized, what the heck. What have I got to lose? I was already embarrassed with the red peppers thing; what more can I do, right?

So I started to go with the beat of the song, and started to move a bit. At first, it was just my foot tapping, but as I got into the music, I started to actually move around too. And I had to admit, I was having fun. And so far, nobody booed me yet.

"_Everyone can see we're together,_

_As we walk on by,_

_And we fly just like birds on a feather,_

_I won't tell no lie."_

I let out a shrilling laugh after I finished the first verse, because the music was just so much fun to dance to. Pretty soon, I heard the audience laughing with me, and I could see they, too, were dancing to the music.

"_We are family; I got all my sisters with me._

_We are family, get up everybody and sing."_

The audience had started to clap along with the beat, and I went down the stairs with the mike still in my hands as I sang the next part.

"_Living life is fun, and we've just begun_

_To get our share of the world's delights_

_High hopes we have for the future,_

_And our goal's in sight."_

The audience sang the last three choruses with me, and everyone was dancing along too. I was smiling widely as I went back up the stage. We all belted the last three choruses as loud as we could, and were all screaming at the top of our lungs.

"_We are family! I got all my sisters with me!_

_We are family! Get up everybody and sing!_

_We are family! I got all my sisters with me!_

_We are family! Get up everybody and sing!_

_WE ARE FAMILY! I GOT ALL MY SISTERS WITH ME!_

_WE ARE FAMILY! GET UP EVERYBODY AND SING!" _

We held the last note longer than the rest, and as the music faded, the audience started to clap for me. I was laughing and smiling, because this was probably the most fun I've ever had in my life. They all kept cheering, even though I was already off the stage, and walking back to my friends. I tripped down the steps, but someone in the audience caught me before I fell. No one else saw the little trip except for that person. But when I turned to thank him or her, there was no one there.

"Great job, Sonny," Erica complimented when I sat down. "I had no idea you could sing like that."

"Neither did I," Caitlyn added. "How about you, Jules?" Julie shook her head and smiled.

"No, I didn't know. That was great, Sonny."

"Thanks." I felt the heat rise to my face with all of this attention. I knew that was weird, because I perform on stage all the time for comedy sketches. But then again, I never really knew I could sing either-my mom has always told me I had a great voice, but she was my mom and moms were supposed to say that.

"Sonny!" I turned around to see Alex and Dean coming my way. "Oh my god, that was awesome! Plus, it's the most fun we've had since…forever. Usually, someone just gets drunk and gets all weird at Chelsea's parties, and that's our highlight of the night. But this was different, and it was so much more fun."

Dean laughed. "What made you pick that song? It was so random."

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Well, good choice," he said, grinning at me. I smiled back at him.

"Hey, I see you've met the gang," Alex said, taking a seat beside me. Dean took a seat beside her. It seems to me like he never leaves her side. If I didn't know it, I'd say they were going out too.

"Yeah," I said looking around at my group of friends. "I meet one person; she introduces me to the whole 'gang'."

Alex laughed. "Erica's a very sociable person."

Erica shrugged, and rested her head on Paul's shoulder. "What? It's not my fault I like to talk."

"That you do," Alex agreed. We laughed. Alex started to get up and pulled Dean up as well. "Hey, let's dance."

"Didn't you just dance-like a few minutes ago?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but I feel like dancing again," she said, making me laugh. I looked at Dean, who didn't seem to mind.

"Don't you get tired?"

He shook his head. "You can't say no to Alex."

"So I've learned." I gave Alex a glare, remembering she was the one who brought me to the party in the first place, and made me wear these ridiculous clothes.

Dean chuckled and looked at my clothes. "I'm guessing she told you to wear that?"

"Told? No. Force? Yes." Dean chuckled again, and casually put his arm around Alex's waist. I didn't know if he noticed he was doing it or not, but to me, it looks like he did it on purpose. But Alex didn't seem to notice-or if she did, she wasn't showing it.

"It's alright, Sonny. You'll get used to it," he said, taking Alex's arm and dragging her to the dance floor. "But it looks good on you." I didn't get to say thanks because they were already on the dance floor, moving to the music again. Pretty soon, Erica and Paul joined them too. And then Caitlyn and Evan, followed by Julie and Ray. Julie asked if she wanted me to come with them before she left, but I declined her offer and told her I needed to go back to studying. As soon as they left, I went back to reading my textbook.

"Hey," a voice greeted behind me. I knew who it was even before turning around; how could I not when I spend every single day being tormented by it? I expected to see a smug look on his face when I turned around, but he had a grim one instead.

"Hey…?" It came out more as a question than statement because I don't think I've ever seen him like this before. He looked bored, and well…upset about something. Chad sat down in the seat beside me, and nodded his head towards my friends on the dance floor.

"Why aren't you out there?" he asked. I shrugged, and placed a bookmark on my page, before closing the textbook.

"I was reading," I answered. "Plus, I'm not much of a dancer."

"You're not much of an actor either, but that doesn't stop you, does it?" Chad grinned cockily at me, and he looked like his old self again, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Then his smile faded, and he turned away, staring at the dance floor.

"Whatever." I think I saw him smile a bit, but if he did, he wasn't smiling now.

"Pretty good singer, though," he murmured so quietly, I didn't think I was meant to hear that. So I said nothing, and took another sip of my drink. Chad looked at me and smirked. "Well, except for that trip."

My eyes widened. "You were the one who caught me?"

"I know. I should've let you fall, right?" Chad grinned again.

I shook my head. "No, you shouldn't have. But thanks."

He didn't say anything, but turned back to the dance floor. I knew something was bothering him; even though he was still saying witty remarks to me as usual, he didn't have the energy he usually has with him. I wondered what was bothering him. "Chad?"

"Hmm?" he murmured with lips pressed together, without looking at me.

"What's wrong?"

Now he did look at me, and he gave me a weird expression. He looked like he was thinking of something far away, and that he wasn't spiritually here. "What do you mean." He was also speaking very softly; softer than I ever thought he was capable of.

"You're acting strange," I answered. "What's wrong?"

Chad shrugged. "I don't know what you mean." I sighed, and gave up in trying to find out what was wrong with him. If he wants to tell me, he'll tell me. I opened my book again and started reading. After about two minutes, I felt Chad lean over to me. I looked up to see he was, indeed, trying to get a closer look at the book.

"What are you reading?" he asked nosily.

"Textbook for school." I had no idea how much times I had answered that question tonight. It seems like a lot to me.

Chad made a face. "Why are you-?"

"I'm studying to get into college, okay?" Everyone had asked me the same thing, and it was getting kind of annoying. I expected him to make fun of me or something, but he didn't. He just nodded, and sat back into his seat. "You would've made fun of me."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Usually, you would've made fun of me," I repeated. "Once I told you that I'm reading for school at a _party_."

Chad shrugged. "I'm not in the mood." I sighed again and got up to find some snacks. There were snack tables all around the room; surely there has to be one with food, right? As Erica said, what kind of hostess doesn't serve her guests food?

I finally found a table with food-barely any left, but it's still has food. This time, I made sure not to eat any red peppers. There was a chocolate that seemed like the one I ate the first night here. When I popped it in my mouth, I smiled at the same delicious feeling it brought me. I could feel someone's presence standing beside me, and I craned my neck around to see Chad there.

"Why are you following me?" I asked him between bites. Chad smiled amusingly at me and made a circular motion with his finger around his mouth. I glanced at the mirror beside me and saw I had a chocolate mustache. I tried to look for a napkin, but there didn't seem to be any around. Chad reached inside his black jacket pocket, and took out a handkerchief. I wondered what kind of person would carry around a handkerchief these days.

He started dabbing it on my face to clean the chocolate off. One hand came to cup my cheek, to steady my face, and I felt nervous because he was really close to me. Once he finished, he looked at the handkerchief and made a face. "Can't use that anymore."

I laughed. "You're the one who used it."

"You had chocolate all over your face! It was disgusting, Sonny," he said. "I couldn't let you walk around like that. You'll embarrass me."

I lifted my shoulders lightly. "So just pretend you don't know me like you usually do." Chad smiled a small smile, and was staring at me curiously.

"I guess I could've done that," he said, nodding. I raised my eyebrows in agreement, and started walking back to the chairs. Chad followed me.

"Why are you following me?" I asked again, looking over my shoulder. He sighed and sat down in a seat-I did the same.

"I don't know. I'm bored, I guess."

"Well, what do you usually do at these parties?" I asked him, curious to know, and at the same time, trying to make conversation.

"Usually they have the Seven Minutes In Heaven game." Chad paused, and then smirked. "I'll get lucky if I see you going in the closet with some freak. That'll cheer me up." He began to chuckle, and I smacked him in the arm.

"Wait. Why do you need cheering up?"

His laughter stopped abruptly, and he frowned and looked away. "Nothing. Never mind."

I frowned. There was something wrong with him for sure. But I didn't like to pry people because I don't like it when people pry on me either. So instead I just nodded, and went back to my book.

"Sonny?" I looked up when Chad called my name. He stared at me for a moment, as if deciding what to say. In the end, he sighed, and stared down at his hands as he began to talk. "I'll tell you. But don't tell anyone-if you do, I swear I'll-"

"Save it." I held up a hand to stop him from talking. "You can't do anything on me. Just talk. I won't say anything."

Chad frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but I raised an eyebrow at him; challenging him in a way. He shut his mouth and nodded. "Fine."

I laughed. "What's wrong?" Chad hesitated a bit, as if he wasn't sure whether he could trust me or not, so I said, "I won't tell. I promise."

"I don't even want to work at this place," he said finally, lifting his arm in the air to show what he meant by "this place", even though we weren't at the hotel, but at Chelsea's house. "I got in a fight with my dad."

"Why?"

"Well, about this exactly." He motioned around the room to everyone who was at the party. "Working."

"What about working?" I asked, leaning closer to him. Chad grabbed a drink from the snack table-that had apparently been refilled-and gulped it down. He took the jug and poured more water in, before taking another sip.

"I don't want to work here. Or take over the 'family businesses. I want to stay exactly where I am, and be the actor that I am-not manage a hotel." He winced. "I don't even _know_ how to do that. I'm no good at that."

"Is that what your dad wanted you to do?"

He nodded, and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, he wants me to work here so I could learn the family business." Chad shuddered, and poured himself another glass of his drink.

"What's so bad about that? You boss people around all the time at Mackenzie Falls," I teased, hoping to lighten the mood and make him feel better. It seemed to work, because he gave me a small smile before taking another drink.

"Not…" He swallowed the drink, and poured himself another. "The same…ugh…Sonny." Chad made a face as he took a sip, and I heard him hiccup.

I stared at him curiously as to why he was acting so strange, but decided to ignore it for now. "So you got in a fight because he wanted you to work here, but you wanted to keep your acting job?"

Chad started laughing for no reason. "That's…ha…exactly…ha…it…" I frowned and gave him a strange look.

"What's so funny?"

"You!" He touched my nose with his finger, and started laughing hysterically. He took another sip of his drink, and my eyes widened.

"Chad…what are you drinking…?" I asked slowly, getting up to see what was in the cup.

He held the cup away from me, and finished the drink. Then he smiled brightly at me, still laughing. He looked flushed; his cheeks pink, and his face damp and sweaty. "You mean, what _was_ I drinking?" Then he erupted into more fits of laughter.

I grabbed the cup and threw it away hastily-not that it mattered now; it was too late. I grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him. "Chad! Did you know you were drinking wine?"

Chad shrugged giddily. "Maaaybe…"

I groaned as I tried to get the drunken TV star on his feet. It wasn't very easy. Chad-even if he was probably very slim and fit-was still much heavier than me, and I had trouble lifting him up. He limped on me, and what's worse, he didn't even seemed to be trying to hold himself up. That makes it even harder because now, all of his heavy weight was on mine. "Ugh…Chad…please stand up properly."

"Mhmm…" he moaned, sniffing my hair. "Sonny…you have pertty hair. Mhmm…smells like-like…uhm…" He stood up, and I could see a thoughtful expression planted on his face. Then his face lit up, and he smiled brightly like a child who just received the biggest Christmas present in the world. "Like flowers!"

I slapped my hand on my forehead and sighed. "Yes, Chad. Flowers. Thanks. Okay, we need to get you home before anything-" Suddenly, a big bright light shone over on us-those lights you use for performers when they're in the spotlight. The guy who had handed me the mike for karaoke was up on the stage, and he was talking.

"Who's ready for Seven Minutes In Heaven?" he boomed loudly. The crowd cheered, and I felt my stomach turn, as I realized what the spotlight was for. The man pointed at me and Chad. "You two are the lucky ones who get to go first!" Really? Because I didn't think I was all that lucky.

"No! I can't!" I protested. "He's dru-"

"Alright, you two! Get in the closet!" Before I could reply, I felt two strong arms carry me away to the closet. I turned to see big, strong muscled men who looked like the bodyguards from Chad's party, lifting me up. I tried to wriggle out of their arms, but they were just too strong. I turned to my side to see if Chad was there; he was. Instead of being hauled over like me, though, he was walking casually to the closet. He didn't even protest-in fact, he looked kind of happy.

"_Chad!_" I hissed. "_What_ are you doing?" He looked up at me in surprise, and then smiled.

"Going…to the…colset…" he slurred, as he stumbled inside. The man put me down once we reached the closet, and pushed me inside.

"No, wait! He's dru-" I cried.

"What are you doing?" a voice shrilled. I peered past the bodyguards to see Chelsea standing there with her hands on her hips; an angry and horrified look on her face. Yet she still manages to look as pretty as ever. I had seen her in the corner making out with some guy, yet she looks as unscathed as she was when the party first started. Not a hair in place and no lipstick smudge. I was so jealous at how she could look so good whenever and wherever she was. It was just so unfair.

"They're playing Seven Minutes In Heaven, silly," the man announced. Chelsea glared at him, then at me.

"Get out of there. This is _my_ party," she seethed. "There's no way I'm allowing you to go in there with _my_ Chad alone for seven minutes."

"Good, because I don't want-" I started, but the announcer cut me off. He was really starting to get on my nerves-the way he keeps interrupting.

"I'm sorry. Rules are rules," he said, then motioned to the two big bodyguards. "Close the door guys." Before either Chelsea or I could react, the door slammed shut in my face, leaving me with a drunken Chad Dylan Cooper in the closet for seven minutes.

* * *

_A/N: It was originally going to be longer, but then when I looked down, it was already twelve pages. So I'm like, er, fine. I'll just continue it in the next chapter. I think it was because I spent too much time describing Chelsea's house and outfit-that's why it wouldn't fit. Anyways, I think there's going to be a part two of the party in the next chapter. So I hope you like it, and I find Chad drunk kind of amusing, lol. And there will be more of him in the next chapter, because I'm planning to make him say some stuff about Sonny. ;) You know, that thing you do when you're drunk, and start spilling out all your secrets (wink) (wink) lol. Review please!_


	10. What Are You Drinking?: Part 2

_A/N: Hey, everyone! School started, and I have to adjust at a new school :( I'm sad. So I decided to try and update everything at the same time, even though I know I'm late-sorry about that. It's just been so hectic. On the first week of school, I had homework (I know, already?! It's a tough school...), and on the first day of school, I had to go school-supply shopping. Also, I wasn't able to reply to your reviews-I'm so so, sorry! I feel so guilty about that. At first it was because FF had some problems with that-I think it's fixed now-and then anyways, after that, well, you know I had no time. On Sunday-last Sunday, it was my brother's birthday party and well, that day just got wasted, and I couldn't go online. And then the days before that, I just got the Mortal Instrument Series and finished reading them, and so I was occupied with them the whole weekend, and the whole week two weeks ago. Lol, it's awesome, and on my profile, I've said that too, but it is. My new favorite couple is Jace and Clary! Lol :) Okay, so now, I'm rambling. The point is, sorry I took so long, and I hope you like this chapter._

_This chapter is dedicated to: _

**Racheliscool, amfabulous, nana518, NIKKIRUBIO101, XxLive-Laugh-Luv-LifeXx, dancerava, rosepetals186, edwardcullenxoxo, Queen Daenerys, MarthaD, rachelito, Music Marauder, Fluffness, Roses 'n Horses, Deathwishedx3, thatharlequingirl, Chanii3220,**_  
_

_and to my anonymous reviewers_**, lolz3()**_ (thank you, i know you've already been mentioned, but thanks for checking everyday! that's sweet)_**Ali (), xoshannii101 (), ssfghhj (), MegVampLover ()** _(thank you so much for your comment! XD)_**,** **dodah! ()** _(thank you so much! and that's a great idea! i'll use it for further chapters, thanks. and glad you like the length)_**, Danielle Thompson () **_(thank you! but he's not going to spill it in the closet, he's...oh you can just find out yourself, lol)_**, Victoria Landrum () **_(Aw! Thank you so much. I'm so glad you like it-that was the aim I was going for. I wanted to keep them in character, and also think of things they would actually do on the show-so of course, they'd be antagonistic to each other at first. And plus, it's kind of more fun to write that way. What's a show without Chad and Sonny arguing at first? I mean, if all they do is go all mushy and make googly eyes to each other, it wouldn't really be exciting, now would it? So thank you.)_**,**

_And anyone else who reads but I don't know they do. Thanks!  
By the way, I'm getting a lot of anonymous reviews lately-well, reviews in general. Thank you so much! You guys are awesome :) And, even though I said I'm only doing the dedications for each chapter, instead of just one big pile of names, I think I'm going to do it again at the end, lol. Because you guys deserve it, and are just THAT cool and awesome. That kind of awesomeness/coolness just needs to be mentioned-not once-but TWICE. So I'm mentioning each and everyone of you who reviewed/favourited/alerted this story at the end again. Thank you!_

_Disclaimer: I'm not saying it. You already know. Look in previous chapters to know that I don't own Sonny With a Chance. So I don't have to say it now…oh!!!! Darn it! Curse you disclaimer!!! Mo-ving on..._

* * *

9. What Are You Drinking?

(Part 2)

**SPOV:**

"Let me out! Let me _out_!" I yelled as I slammed my fist against the wooden door of the closet, for who knows how many times that night. No one came to open the door, and I sighed, thinking I should just give up. I pressed my back against the wall, and slid down on it-falling to the floor.

Chad was humming tunelessly, and he seemed too casual. I didn't think he knew what was going on, but the humming was driving me crazy. "Chad!" I snapped at him. "Can you _please_ stop with the humming?"

He stopped, and turned to look at me curiously, then laughed. "You said…humm-ing…" He burst out laughing again, and started to clutch his stomach. I groaned.

"Yes, I'm glad you can sound out words, Chad. Now can you please shut up?" I rubbed my aching temples as Chad started rolling on the limited space on the floor of the closet. Of course, because of the small space, his legs kept brushing up to mine.

"Why?" he whined, but was still smiling.

"Because I'm trying to get through seven minutes in this stupid closet with you before I go balistic," I answered, as I leaned my head back to the wall and closed my eyes; trying to relax.

I heard shifting of movement, and suddenly, Chad's face was right in front of me. He had a confused look on his face, and the pink flush on his cheeks still haven't gone away. I had to admit, no matter what condition he's in right now, he still looks pretty cute. His blue eyes narrowed and his bottom lip jutted out-striking a thoughtful pose. "What…are we sapposed to do…in a colset, Sun-nay?" If I wasn't so stressed right now, I would've probably find myself laughing at the way he was talking. You've got to admit, it's a pretty comical situation. And, as Alex had pointed out, their highlight of the party every year was someone getting too drunk.

"We're supposed to be kissing right now," I answered, then made a face at the thought of me kissing _him_-or the other way around.

Chad burst out laughing again, and I sighed. "Hey, Chad?"

"Wha-t?" he asked, still laughing like an idiot.

"You were right," I said, rolling my eyes. "I did go in the closet with some freak. Did it cheer you up?"

Chad stopped laughing long enough to smile at me. "Who's the freak?" I rolled my eyes again, and thought how much I'd love the normal conceited Chad better than drunk Chad.

"You." I thought he'd start laughing again, but instead he frowned.

"Does that mean you won't…k-kick me, Sonny?" he slurred, moving closer to me. I laughed.

"Oh, I'll kick you alright," I answered, but knew it wasn't what he meant. "No, Chad. I won't _kiss_ you. We hate each other."

Chad pouted and frowned again. "Who said?"

"We did."

"_I _don't hat you…" Slurring, he moved even closer to me, and started playing with my hair, murmurring something I couldn't hear. It wasn't until he leaned closer that I realized what he was saying. My name-over and over again. He was saying it like a lullaby kind of-that by saying my name, it kind of soothes and calms him. "Sonny…Sonny…"

"Chad…" He looked up to meet my gaze, but didn't stop stroking my hair. "Why are you saying my name?"

"Because," He cupped my cheeks with both of his hand and stared right at my eyes. "It's pertty…like-like…_you_." And with that, he leaned in before I do anything, he pressed his lips on mine. I expected it to be awful-since he drank the wine and all, but it was actually nice.

The way his lips moved on mine-he tasted…_sweet_. I could taste some of the alchohol still there, but it mixed together with his taste, making it a very pleasurable kiss. I knew somewhere in the back of my head that he wasn't realizing he's doing this-that he's only kissing me because he's drunk.

But at that moment, I didn't care. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back. One of my hands stretched to his hair, and messed around with his golden locks. The other, went to his neck, and started tracing his collarbone, then cupped his cheek, then back down again.

His hands were roaming all over my body-sometimes on my waist, sometimes on my face, sometimes in my hair, and sometimes on my legs. Every touch of his burned fire on my body, and I wanted more.

His tongue began to graze my bottom lip, and I parted my lips to let him in. He gladly compiled, and our mouths and tongue were dancing together in motion. He tasted so amazing, and it was hard to believe that he was drunk. As if that very thought was the magic words, it snapped me instantly out of my reverie.

Chad's hands were on my back, and he was pulling me closer, but I resisted. I finally remembered that he was drunk, and by tomorrow, this whole thing will mean nothing to him. He probably won't even remember this-and if he did, he'll regret it. Just like I was supposed to. So I pushed him away roughly, and he looked at me with bewildrement at my sudden reaction. I gave him an apologetic look, and licked my dry lips.

"What's…wrrong…?" he purred, still slurring. He started to move closer to me, but I pressed my hands to his chest to hold him back.

"No, Chad. You're drunk," I said weakly.

His brows knitted together in confusion-or was it frustration? "What does that meean…?"

"It means you don't _really_ want to kiss me, you're just doing so because you don't realize what you're doing and you're drunk." It was amazing how well I could control my voice even though I was completely breathless, and a little bit in shock at what we'd just done.

"Yes I do," he said stubbornly, frowning. "I want to _smoochie-smoochie_…you…at…" he swallowed, and he looked sick. "The…caft-eria." He was talking about when we first met, I knew that-even though he used the word, '_smoochie-smoochie_'-which is completely unecassary. But he looked kind of green and pale to me. I suddenly had a horrible feeling that he was going to throw up.

I knocked on the door again. "Is it seven minutes yet?" I cried, hoping it was.

"No!" someone called out-I think it was one of the bodyguards. "Five more minutes!"

"I can't wait that long!" I shouted back. I turned to Chad, who had a hand on his stomach, and was leaning against the wall for support. I rubbed his arm in an effort to calm him, and hopefully, his stomach.

I banged on the door again. "Please!" I pleaded, desperate. "Chad's drunk, and I think he's going to throw up. Please open the door."

There was a minute of scilence, but then I heard footsteps approaching us, followed by a _click_. The door opened, and Chad raced out the door before anyone could react, and bent down as he threw up on Chelsea's floor. The crowd made a disgusted sound, and I saw that everyone had a disgusted look on their faces too.

"Eww…" they all said.

I winced at how much in pain Chad looked. I rubbed his back to comfort him-exactly like the way my mom used to do to me when I was little and sick. He finally finished, and I grabbed a napkin to wipe the barf on his face. He smiled at me, but his eyes looked a little red, and he still looked a bit nausiated and pale. _At least he's done vomitting,_ I thought to myself.

"Here. Drink this." Chelsea handed him a glass of water and he grabbed it roughly, and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. I rolled my eyes. Guys. They do the stupidest things.

Chelsea started rubbing his back in a comforting gesture-like what I did-but he shook it away quickly, and started towards me with a goofy grin on his face. "All done," he announced-as if vomitting in the middle of a party in front of everybody was something to be proud of.

I stuck my thumb up at him. "_Great_…I can't wait for the next party; are you going to barf then, too?"

Chad's booming laughter caused his chest to rise up and down in a rumble. I didn't know if it was just me, but I never really noticed how loud his laugh was; practically everyone had turned to look at us-well, if they weren't already staring from Chad's barf. Or maybe, it just sounded loud because he was drunk.

"No, _silly_!" Chad cried, punching me lightly by the arm. I tried-unsucessfully-to hide the smile that was beginning to form on my lips at Chad's ridiculous drunken antics. I mean, no matter _how_ drunk you are, who really says, 'silly' these days?

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yep! No more barfing from _me_!" Chad nodded so furiously, I was sure his head would fall off. He looked cute, actually-despite the condition he was in. He looked like a little kid when he bopped his head up and down like that. But then he paused, and frowned. "Well…I don't know yet…I'm still feeling a little…_queasy._"

"O-kay...enough of this," Chelsea announced suddenly. She clapsed her hands together, and cupped them around her mouth. "Time for Truth or Dare, everyone!" Chelsea gestured everyone to the middle of the room, and sat down on the floor. Everyone followed after her, and made a circle.

Chelsea patted the seat next to her and called for Chad to come and sit there. He reluctantly agreed, but not before turning back, and grabbing my arm. He sat beside Chelsea, and made me sit beside him.

"Okay, then," Chelsea clasped her hands together again, and gazed around the crowd of people in the circle. "Let's start." Her eyes stared down each person in the circle, before finally landing on me. She gave me a smirk, and her voice was snob-like when she talked.

"Sonny." I bit my lip nervously, because I knew this wasn't going to be pretty. "Truth or dare?"

I wanted to say dare, because back in Wisconsin, my friends and I always have so much fun with our dares. But this wasn't Wisconsin, and Chelsea wasn't my friend. I knew that if I chose dare, I'd regret it. So I decided to go for the safe route. "Truth."

"As I expected," Chelsea said, rolling her eyes. "Fine. Be boring." She tapped her finger under her chin. "Let's see...who do you like?" I opened my mouth to say something, but she interrupted me. "And _don't_ say no one. I know better than that. You _must_ like _somebody_." Her gaze flickered so quickly to Chad, that you wouldn't have even noticed it if you weren't paying attention. But I noticed it.

"It's not-uh, never mind." I shook my head. "But I don't like anyone."

Chelsea scoffed and flipped her red flames of hair back. "Please. Don't give me that. You _must_ like _somebody_."

"But I don't!" I protested, then looked to Alex for help. She shrugged, and mouthed, 'Just lie' to me. I rolled my eyes, but turned back to Chelsea with a sigh. "Fine. I like...uh..." I searched around the circle to find someone I know, and preferably not taken. My eyes landed on Dean, and I smiled. "Dean."

His eyes widened in surprise when I called his name, and I heard Alex make a choking sound beside me. Even Chelsea looked surprised. But then she regained her composure and quirked an eyebrow at me. "Really..." she pursed. "Dean."

I nodded. "Uh-huh. I've had a crush on him since-"

"You've met him?" Chelsea laughed with no feeling. "Please. That's so cheesy and cliche."

"No, I was going to say, since he offered me half of his lunch," I corrected. I smiled at Dean, and gave him a little wink. He smiled back at me, but I could tell he was uncomfortable with being in the spotlight. "You know what? That doesn't even matter. Who's turn is it?"

"Chad!" Chelsea yelled immediately. "Truth or dare?"

"Da-are." Chad traced his finger in the air, as if spelling out the letters.

Chelsea's lips curved up into a wicked grin. "I dare you to kiss the girl you think is the prettiest in this room." Obviously, she thought the prettiest girl was her-from the way she was sitting up so straight, and the look of confidence on her face. Honestly, I thought so too.

So, along with Chelsea, I was really surprised when Chad turned to me with a huge smile on his face. "Sonny." He started to lean in, and my eyes widened.

"What?" Chelsea cried. "I said to kiss the prettiest girl in the room-which is _obviously_ me!"

"Nooo..." Chad shook his head, still leaning in to me. "You said to kiss the girl I thought was the perttiess. _Obiosly_, it's Son-nie." He gave her a pointed 'duh' look, and smiled at me.

"Yes, but-" Chelsea didn't get to finish what she was going to say, because at that moment, Chad pressed his lips onto mine. Everyone-including me, if I could-gasped in surprise. I froze; not knowing what to do in a situation like this.

Chad placed his hands on my back, and pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and eventually started to move my lips with his. I knew it was a dare, but at that moment, I couldn't care less.

I heard someone cough, but I didn't look to see who. Instead, I pulled away, and hid my face from everyone so that they couldn't see how red I was. When I snuck a glance at Chad, he still had that stupid smile on his face.

I cleared my throat and said in a small voice, "Next, please."

"I'm next!" Chelsea started to wave her hand frantically in the air. "Dare." She turned to a dark-haired girl sitting across from her. The girl's hair was cut into short layers that fell just above her shoulders. She was also very pretty; her topaz eyes shining brightly in the light. "Amelia. Give me a dare." Chelsea winked at Amelia, who returned her sly grin.

"Alright, Chels." Amelia turned to Chad; the same smirk still on her face. "I dare you to kiss Chad."

"My _pleasure_," she purred, leaning in towards Chad. He backed away from her, which caused his head to bump into mine. I watched as she crashed her lips to Chad's-the lips that were, just a minute ago, on mine. That made me feel a little sick, but I felt better once I saw how resistant Chad was.

He pulled away from Chelsea with a disgusted look on his face. "I feel sick." I bit my lip to keep from laughing; not wanting to get Chelsea angry. But she'll probably be angry anyways from Chad's comment. And sure enough, when I turned to look at her, Chelsea's face was red with rage.

"Why. Do. You. Feel. Sick." She had her teeth clenched; probably because she'll scream any second if she didn't.

Chad shrugged. "I dunno..." he closed his eyes, and placed a hand on his forehead dramatically. Even when he's drunk he's still the drama king. "Think I ate some bad _shirmp_."

"You didn't eat any _shirmp_-I mean, shrimp," Chelsea told him. Chad started to giggle-yes, giggle-hysterically.

He made an "o" shape with his mouth, and said, "I shee...well, I ate some bad..._some_thing."

"You didn't eat anything, Chad," I said, exasperated. "You're drunk. You drank too much wine."

"Oh! I _did_?" he exclaimed, in awe-as if that was the most magical thing he's ever heard.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. You did." Turning to Chelsea, I told her, "Don't you think we should stop the game now? Chad's not really in the condition to play-I don't want him to do anything he'll regret just because he's drunk."

"Nonsense," she answered, waving an airy hand at me. "What will he regret?" _Well,_ I thought, _I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to kiss me, _or_ kiss Chelsea too. _

"Well..."

"Alright, Chad. Truth or dare?" Chelsea interrupted me. "Pick truth."

"Oke-doke," he answered cheerfully; his face and cheeks all red. If he was a couple pounds fatter, had a gray beard, elves, and the costumes to go with all of it, I was definitely sure he could pass for Santa. I tried to picture Chad as Santa, but the image just won't process. "I pick turth."

"Truth," I corrected.

"Why do you think Sonny's the prettiest girl here?" Chelsea asked, trying to appear nonchalant, even though I could see she looked a bit nervous-as if she was afraid of the answer Chad was going to give.

"Why do you _not_?" he shot back. "Actually, I don't think she's the prettiest girl here."

"You don't?" Chelsea's eagerness, and Chad's bluntness shouldn't have really got to me, but it did. It kind of hurt, actually. I mean, did he have to say it in front of everyone?

"Nope." He popped his mouth at the sound of the "p". "I think she's the prettiest girl _in general_." Chelsea's mouth dropped open in shock, and I widened my eyes.

"Why?" It sounded almost like a whine, when she spoke.

"Why _not_?" Chad answered; answering the question with another question. "She is. From the first moment I came into the party, I started looking around for Sonny. And then I saw her onstage, and she looked _so_ pertty. Her haare was _so_ soft-I want to touch it, and pet it, and run my fingers up and down, up and down, up and down..." As he was talking, he ran his fingers up and down my hair. "And the green was a _great_ cu-lor on her-the whole oufit was _a-ma-zing_." I blushed, as his hands started to trail down my arm, rubbing the soft, silk blouse. I could feel the heat of his hands through the silky material.

"Sonny didn't want to wear the shirt; she said it was too much cleavage," Alex piped up. Her tone was the way a small child would sound when he just told on the teacher on another student. I glared at her, but she didn't notice.

"It's _just_ right." Chad cupped my face with both of his hands and stared into my eyes. I could feel the heat rising up to my face as everyone continued staring at us. "_And_ she has _such_ a good voice. Like-like...Elvis!"

Everyone, with the exception of me, Chad, and Chelsea, burst out laughing. I was too busy with the way he was staring at me so intimitely-I didn't care about anything else at that moment.

"Alright, Chad. That's enough," Chelsea interrupted, irritated. Chad let go of my face, but instead linked his hand through mine. I wanted to tell him to let go-or to let go myself-but I didn't. I couldn't bring myself to do that. I guess, in a way, I wanted to hold hands with him too. So I didn't say anything, and just kept quiet.

"You can let go of her hand, Chad." Alex smirked, making me glare at her again. I didn't want to let go yet.

"I can't held hands with my grillfriend?" he slurred. I whipped around to stare at him in bewildrement.

"Your _what_?" Chelsea cried.

"She's my grillfriend." Chad shrugged. "I _smoochie-smoochie_ her."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "That was a _dare_. It doesn't count. It doesn't make her your-your..._girlfriend_." She spat the word out with an amazing amount of venom.

"Noo..." he shook his head, the foolish grin appearing on his face. "In the colset."

Chelsea's eyes widened in horror. "You-you...k-ki..."

"_Kissed_?" Alex smiled smugly. "What's wrong, Chelsea? Jealous that he'd rather kiss someone _normal_ than you?"

Chelsea still looked shocked, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she moved even closer to Chad and started trailing her fingers up and down his arm, in a flirtatious gesture. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and gag.

"Cha-ad..." she whined, ennunciating each syllable. Chelsea started to bat her eyelashes, but it just looked like she had something in her eye and was trying to get it out by blinking. "I can see you're not thinking very clearly, _so_...how about you stay at my house tonight?"

Chad's eyes widened, and he looked like he was about to barf again. "Wh-_What_?" He shook off Chelsea's arm harshly, and cowered behind me like a little kid; using me as a sheild. "M-Me...and you..._together_?" His face paled-making him look like he just saw a ghost. _Well,_ I thought, smiling, _close enough. _

"Yeah, you can stay in our guest room," said Chelsea, trying to edge closer to Chad-well as close as she could get with me in between (Chad was still hiding behind me).

"_Why_?" Chad whined in a really high-pitched and girly voice. His hands were on my shoulders, and they clutched me tighter as Chelsea tried to get closer. I knew I should've probably moved away, but it just felt so comfortable and so..._right_, that I didn't make any move to shake him off.

Chelsea blinked in surprise. "Uh...don't you _want_ to stay here, Chad? I mean, remember when we were young? You used to sleepover all the time here. That's because our families are _really_ close-" She turned to me with a very conceited and smug look, "-and we still are now. But anyways, since you're not in a very good condition and all...shouldn't you rest here for a while? I mean, I don't want you passing out on the way back to your house, Chad. Just stay here, okay? My parents won't mind."

"Nah..." he slurred, wrapping one arm around me, and squeezing my shoulder gently. "I'll be fiine..."

"But what if something happened to you along the way?" I was actually surprised to hear the genuine concern in her voice. I mean, from the first moment I've met her, I didn't think she could actually _care_. But I supposed everyone cares for at least _one_ thing in life-unfortunately, for Chelsea, it's Chad.

Chad's arm was still around me, and he made no move to remove it-not that I minded-and I felt him shrug. "Sonnay'll take me."

"_Sonny_?" Chelsea exclaimed, as soon as I cried, "_Me_?". I turned my head to look at Chad, and he was grinning like an idiot, and nodded when I looked at him.

"Yep!" he announced proudly.

"But I-" I started, stammering.

"Why _her_?" Chelsea whined. Her green eyes were glaring into mine, but it looked like she was about to cry too. I could tell how much she really cared for Chad, but from the way Chad was rejecting her every invitation, I could tell the feeling wasn't mutual.

"Because," he said, as if that was the only answer for everything. "I like her."

"_Why_?" Chelsea was on the verge of tears now, but before she could say anything more, I quickly shook off Chad's arm around me. I took a step away from both of them.

"Uh...I can't walk you home, Chad," I answered, looking at him in the eye. "I, uh, don't know where your house is," I added lamely. That was a lie, of course. In all the years my father's been friends with Uncle James, I've been to his house a million of times. But I was hoping that since he was drunk, Chad wouldn't really remember that little tidbit.

He frowned. "I'll show you. I just wanna some-one to walk me home, Son-nay."

I shook my head. "No, Chad. I can't do that, sorry. I-I...uh...I have to..." I glanced at Alex-who, along with everyone else, was staring at me-for help.

"She has to...uh...study!" Alex stepped beside me. "You know what they say...'when you study, you can get into college'!"

We all turned to stare at her with a confused expression. It was Chelsea who finally spoke. "Who _says_ that?"

Alex glared at her and shrugged. "_I_ do, so lay off."

"But that's not even a real-" Chelsea started.

"Oh, would you-?" Alex rolled her eyes and threw up her arms in frustration. "What-_ever_. That's not the point! The point is, she just can't go, okay? _Gosh_, you guys make things so complicated."

I opened my mouth to say something, when I heard someone sniffling beside me. I turned to see Chad with a very sad look on his face. When he caught me looking at him, he said, "Y-You don't want to walk me home, Sonny?" he whimpered, his bottom lip jutting out into a pout. He started to bawl, and my mouth dropped open. Of course, he wasn't _really_ crying-or at least he didn't_ mean_ to-it's probably an effect of the alcohol.

"No, no, Chad..." I said, rubbing his back. "Don't cry."

"You're not walking me home!" he bawled. "You don't like me!" I swear, I was going to die from embarrassment right there. Next to the peppers, this has got to be the most embarrassing moment of my life. What is with me and embarrassing myself in parties?

"No! No! I _do_ like you!" I protested, trying to calm him down. I tried to reach out to pet his head, but he jerked away from me.

"You're _lying_!" he cried. "You won't walk me home!"

I slapped my hand to my forehead, and exhaled heavily. "Ugh! Alright! Alright! I'll walk you home, already! Just..._shut up_!"

He stopped almost immediately, and a huge smile appeared on his face, that made me think he was faking it all along. "Okay. Let's go now!" He took my arm and started dragging me towards the exit before I could say anything.

"What? Wait! Chad!" Chelsea called, running towards us. Her eyebrows were knitted together in despair. "How about we play another round of truth or dare?"

"Nah..." Chad answered, shaking his head. "I'm too _pooped_." He started laughing again. "I said, '_pooped_'!" I rolled my eyes as he started to drag me out the room again. I grabbed onto Alex's arm, and dragged her out the door with me.

"So I was-hey! What are you-?" She was in the middle of talking with Dean when I dragged her away. Once we were outside, Alex shook my hand off and glared at me. "I was talking to Dean!"

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be with Mr. I-said-'pooped' over there alone. Besides, look at the way he's walking. I think he'll pass out in a few minutes, and I don't want to have to carry him home all by myself." A few feet away from us, Chad was wobbling his way down the path.

* * *

_A/N: There's more to it, but I'm going to do a flashback in the next chapter in probably Chad's pov. So again, I'm really, really sorry about the late updates. As I said at the top, it's a new school, and I'm trying to adjust-it's hard; not just the making-new-friends part, but the subjects too. I had so much homework and it was only the first week. So I'm sorry, and this is for future stories too. I know I probably won't be updating a lot. So sorry for that too. _

_Alright, you probably don't care about that, but that's my reasoning as to why I'm not on time. Anyways, tell me what you think of this chapter! Review, please. _


	11. Both Of You Are Ugly

_A/N: You guys are AWESOME, you know that? Your reviews made me so happy for the last chapter. I come on after school, and see I got like eighty messages from fanfiction. And then I had to get off because I had homework, so I come on the next day, and have forty _more_ messages! That's amazing! Plus, when I checked the reviews thing, it said I had 113 reviews! So I started squealing like a crazy fan-girl. Lol, that's so lame; considering all the other amazing authors here have gotten waaaaay more than me. But it's my first hundred thing, so I'm happy. I think _**sonnycentral **_was my hundredth. I'm not sure; I just counted, but I might be wrong. But thank you so much everyone!_

_This chapter is dedicated to (and there's a lot!!! XD): _

**Diversecrowd128, SonnyChadFan **_(I think you've already been mentioned. Have you? Well, if you have, tell me, and I'll remove you-lol, that's reassuring)_**, xoshannii101, so oblivious **_(I love your pen name! I don't know why, but it sounds so…writer-y, lol)_**, mang-and-channy-fangirl14** _or now,_** lyrically-correct** _(love the new name XD)_**, Authorgirl818, vampiregirlsrule, kychelledebeast,** **xmichellet,**

_and to my anonymous reviewers, even though they've already been mentioned:_ **dodah! ()** _(your welcome. Thank you for reviewing, and glad you liked the last chapter. XD)_**, Victoria Landrum () **_(Your welcome, and thanks so much! I've never really heard a drunk person before, so I'm glad you thought I did good. Lol, I loved that line too, haha. It was one of my favorites, I just can really imagine him saying "Son-nay". I try to respond to everyone, so your welcome. Aw! Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you to say.)_**,**

_And anyone else who reads but I don't know they do. Thank you guys so much! Really, you're all awesome. So understanding you all are. In all of my other stories/one-shots too, I wrote that I've been really busy at a new school and such, and you all told me that you understand, and that I should take my time. Some of you also said good luck at my new school and stuff, so thank you so much, even though it makes me feel even more guilty that I don't update, lol. Thank you-you don't know how many times I've said that, and I've meant every single one of them! XD_

_Disclaimer: Me casa, et su casa. Su casa, et me casa. Su Sonny With a Chance…not me Sonny With a Chance. :( Moving on…_

* * *

10. Both of You Are Ugly

**CPOV:**

My head hit a loud _thump!_, making me have to sit up and turn around to see what I had hit. Bad move. Pain seared through my head, and my head started thumping like crazy. It was like my entire head exploded, and it was throbbing like crazy. I raised my hands over my face, and massaged my temples. Unfortunately, that too, was a really bad move. My whole body was aching, and as I tilted my head, I could hear the loud crack.

Turning back, I saw that the loud _thump!_ I had hit was the arm of the sofa. I had spent the night on a sofa-that would explain my sore body. _Wait, _I thought suddenly, _Where am I?_ Looking around, I saw that I was in a very familiar room. To the right of me, was a staircase that led to a loft, where there were two beds there. One of the beds, had a black-haired girl curled up in it. She, too, looked familiar.

A loud beeping sound started to ring, and I watched as the girl in the bed reached over her dresser, and turned off her alarm clock. She sat up and stretched, and then sighed as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. When her eyes finally focused on me, she let out a scream, and jerked back in her bed.

"Ahh!" she screamed. Putting her hand to her chest, and calming down, she yelled, "What the hell, Chad! How long have you been sitting there? Gosh, you scared the cra-"

"Where am I?" I interrupted, not really caring to hear her rant.

The girl frowned, and rolled her eyes as she started down the stairs towards me. "Me and Sonny's room."

"Sonny?" I looked around again, and suddenly, the place made a lot more sense. Yes, this was Sonny's room. As I looked back to the girl, I realized she was Sonny's roommate, Alex. But that still didn't explain why I was here. "So did you guys kidnap me here, or something? I knew Sonny's always had a thing for me."

Alex smirked, and shook her head. "Or maybe it's the other way around."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know." Alex shrugged as she grabbed a nearby towel, and headed to the bathroom. "Maybe you should ask Sonny about wanting to _smoochie-smoochie _her in the _colset_." The bathroom door shut closed, and I could hear her cackling laughter mixed with the sound of the shower being turned on.

I frowned at the closed door, and tried to figure out what she meant by that. I stared back at the sofa I was lying on, and saw someone's jacket sprawled on it. It was sprawled over me when I woke up this morning. That very jacket was what triggered my memory. Everything came flooding back to me; the party, me getting drunk, the Seven Minutes In Heaven with Sonny, me embarrassing myself at Truth or Dare, and spilling all kinds of nonsense…and worst of all…last night.

_-Flashback-_

"_Here we go, Chad," Sonny grunted, as she and Alex tried to get me through the door. "I can't believe you lost your key to your house." _

"_Not…ma fault, Son-nay," I laughed. "You said 'be…lieeeve…'" For some strange reason, I find that very funny, and started laughing like crazy. Sonny and Alex both rolled their eyes._

"_Well, I'm off to bed," Alex announced, going inside the bathroom to freshen up. Sonny groaned as she looked at me wearily. _

"_You can sleep on the couch," she said, pointing to the big lump beside me. Sonny took off her jacket, and threw it on the sofa. I gasped, and let out an awed breath. _

"_It's beetiful…" I gushed, and started tracing the sofa's soft material. Then, slowly, I rubbed my face on the material too. "Soo…soft." Pretty soon, I found myself lying face down on the couch with a content smile on my face. _

_I heard Sonny laugh. "Go to sleep, Chad. I like you better arrogant than drunk." I heard footsteps come closer, and then saw her feet pass by my face. But I grabbed her wrist before she could go any futher. _

"_Where are you goin', Son-son?" I laughed again. "That should be your new name! Son-son! Ha-ha! You sound like a boy. Get it? _Son_-son? As in the _son_ of a frather?" _

_Sonny gave me an exasperated sigh. "Hilarious, Chad. I'm going to my bed to go sleep." _

_I frowned, very unhappy with that thought. "Why cannot you slip here?" _

"_I can't _sleep_ there, because you'll be sleeping there," she answered; some pink color rising to her cheeks. "Do you really expect us to sleep…t-together, Chad?" _

_I looked her straight in the eye, and nodded. "What wrong with that?" _

"_W-Well…uh…er…" she stammered, nervously. I pulled her down, and she landed with her back to the couch. _

"_You warm…" I purred, as I started to rub my face in her soft hair; loving the smell. She froze in front of me, and I could hear her shallow breaths. My back was to the couch, facing horizontally, and Sonny was in front of me with my arms around her. _

"_I-I'll get you a…b-blanket if you're cold," she whispered softly. I shook my head against her hair. _

"_Nope. I-I'm fine now." _

_At that moment, Alex chose to come out, and her eyes widened when she saw our position. "Whoa!" she cried, then started laughing. "Sonny…wha-"_

"_It's not my fault!" I heard Sonny whine. "He was the one who pulled me down! Now I can't get out." _

_Alex laughed, and gave her an unconvinced look. "Uh-huh. Sure. Look, I don't care what you do, just don't do it in front of my face."_

"_But-"_

"_I don't want to hear it!" Alex covered her ears as she crawled into bed. "Goodnight." _

"_Arrgh!" Sonny groaned again, and tried to wiggle free. I held her tighter until she finally gave up and sighed. "Do you really want me to sleep with you, Chad?" she hissed at me. _

"_Yep!" I said proudly. "You're my grillfriend." _

"_I'm not your-" she paused and stopped herself before she could say anymore. There was a change of attitude in her voice when she spoke next. "Okay, Chad. I'm your grillfriend. And I'll sleep with you. But I really have to go to the bathroom. I promise I'll be right back, okay?" _

_I sighed, but let go of my arms. "Okay…" Sonny jumped up from the couch, and ran to the bathroom with a huge smile on her face. "Don't froget to floss!" I called. _

_I told myself I would wait for her, and then we would cuddle again, and go to sleep together like people in fairytales do. But then my eyelids started to droop-to the point where they became so heavy, I just couldn't take it anymore. I closed my eyes, and eventually, I drifted off to sleep. _

_-End of Flashback-_

"Aw, man!" I groaned, as I buried my face in my hands. I made such a fool of myself, and I knew Sonny would no doubt make fun of me. I didn't even want to kiss her yesterday-not that I didn't mind, she was a very good kisser. Not to mention…I remembered her kissing me back. That confused me a little. Did she like me in that way, or was it because she was just feeling sorry for me, and kissing me for sympathy?

But I didn't care about that for the moment. I was too busy regretting the fact that I just spilled a bunch of stuff-that weren't true-to basically everyone I'll be working with for the rest of the summer. I had about two months left until the end of the summer-that's about thirty days-but even then it's not over. Sonny will still be working beside me every day, and no doubt she'll be teasing me too-even worse, she'll probably do it in front of my cast mates, _and_ puppy. "Arrrgh!" I stuffed my face in the pillow, and groaned again.

It was that exact moment, that Sonny's stupid, annoying roommate decided to come out. I could hear the obnoxious smirk in her voice when she spoke. "I'm guessing you've figured it out?"

I tore my face from the pillow, grabbed my jacket, and with one final glare at her, raced out the door.

- OOO -

She was on her lifeguard chair like any other day-probably waiting for her class to start. But today, she looked especially bored and tired-more tired than bored. I wondered if I was the one who did that to her. Maybe I kept her up all night doing something that I didn't realize I was doing. I tried to remember what other things I did last night when I was drunk, but it just made my head hurt even more, so I decided to forget about it. With a firm shake of the head, I walked over to Sonny's lifeguard chair.

She was staring out into the pool in with a day-dream look on her face. It seemed like she was in deep thought, and thinking really hard about something, because she didn't even notice me. I leaned over slightly so that I was right in her line of vision, but she still didn't seem to notice. So I tried clearing my throat softly, and then louder when she didn't hear. Finally, I just gave up and yelled her name.

Sonny jerked up in surprise-causing her to hit her head on the umbrella that was perched behind her chair. "Ow! Geez!" she cried, rubbing her head. She finally looked down at me, and glared. "_What? _Wasn't it bad enough I had to be the one to take care of you last night?"

I winced at her harsh tone, but figured I probably deserved it. She _was _very kind and helpful to me last night. "I didn't mean to scare you. I waved my arm and cleared my throat a few times, but you didn't notice."

"Yes, so screaming my name out loud is your last and final choice. I didn't realize people yell now when they're trying to get someone's attention, isntead of just _saying_ their names normally." Her voice was bitter and very sarcastic. With Sonny, that means she's in a really bad mood if she's talking like that. It was probably because of lack of sleep-probably caused by me-that she's not very happy today. I could see some few thin lines under her eyes-which, instead of her usual brown orbs, now had some red in them too. Her soft, brown hair, was tied into a messy ponytail today instead of letting it loose in nice, natural waves.

"I'm sorry I kept you up last night, and tired you out," I told her, looking into her eyes to let her know I was being sincere. She seemed to be shocked, because I saw her eyes widen slightly, and her breath catching. But she regained her composure, and peered at me suspicously; her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want, Chad?" Her voice was guarded, and she spoke slowly-as if she couldn't talk any faster for fear I might go nuts and do something crazy, like take off all my clothes and run around the pool naked right in front of everybody. I didn't blame her though; after last night, you don't know what to expect from me.

"Nothing," I lied. She knew me well enough to know when I was lying, and when I was telling the truth. I thought she was going to accuse me of lying, but instead she smiled. Now it was my turn to look at her suspicously. "What?"

Sonny shook her head, and stared back at the pool; still smiling. "If you're worried about..." She trailed off, and tilted her head to the side when she glanced back at me. "I won't tell; I promise."

My eyes widened. So she did remember-_Of course she would!_ said the voice inside my head, scolding me mentally, _She's not stupid, and she wasn't drunk like you, Chad. Of course she would remember. _When I looked back at Sonny's face, though, I realized she wasn't making eye contact with me. A small trace of pink highlighted her cheeks. On this hot day, you'd think it was because of the heat. But from the way she was avoiding my gaze, I knew it had nothing to do with the heat at all.

I was confused again. Was she embarrassed by what happened last night? Was that why she wouldn't want to tell anyone? I nodded to myself, and realized this was probably the case. I knew that even though she loved acting in front of people, Sonny didn't like to be in the center of attention for long-especially when it's an embarrassing case, which is what last night _definitely_ was.

So I just gladly accepted this, and decided to forget about it. I mean, this whole thing has to die down in a few days or so, right? Surely, this can't go on forever; people will have to have moved on and forgotten about it. "Alright," I said, turning to leave, "...thanks..." I wasn't really used to saying "thanks", but at this moment, I thought it was necassary. "I'll just go get my stuff from your dorm, and take a nap or something in my room."

I was just outside the gate, when Sonny called my name, making me stop and turn back. "Hey, Chad?"

"Yeah?" I asked, peering at her through the metal bars of the gate.

She smiled, showing all of her teeth. "Try not to do it again, 'kay?" She meant not to get drunk again-or at least, that's what I think it was. It could also mean, I shouldn't kiss her again. I wondered if it was supposed to be an insult, but Sonny was smiling genuinely, so it was more likely the first choice.

I laughed, and nodded. "You can count on that, Sonny. I have no intention in replaying last night's events again; trust me." I turned around then, and headed down the road to her dorm-but not before catching the small smile that crawled up to Sonny's lips.

- OOO -

**SPOV:**

Today was a much easier day than all the others-partly because I was getting used to the schedule, and partly because the children actually listen to me, and co-operate with me, ever since the "incident".

So as I prepared to lock up that day by myself-Dean had an appointment to go to, and had to leave early-I was humming a little tuneless song, and smiling; feeling the most at peace than I've ever had since I came here. I threw the key inside my bag, zipped up my sweater, and started walking down the road to my dorm. I was so happy, that I felt the urge to skip and sing down the road, while carrying a basket with a dog inside it-just like Dorothy from the Wizard Of Oz. But I don't; because that would look stupid.

This day was _so_ terrific, it made me forget about last night's embarassing events. I knew Chad had come that morning to see if I would make fun of him, or tell anyone else-like the press-about it. But did he really think I'd want to tell a story like that-one that included _me_ being embarassed as well? And even if I wasn't embarassed, I wouldn't tell anyone anyways, because that's just not the kind of person I was.

All in all, I was really grateful and relieved when he said we shouldn't mention it again. This summer job was starting to become the dream job I imagined-minus Chad. I think I might actually survive.

I was so caught up in thoughts of my "perfect summer", that I didn't realize the blond-haired star who was scurrying along the opposite direction I was going to. Of course, in these moments of cliche, I just _had_ to bump into him. I would've fallen on the ground if he hadn't reached out and taken my hand to pull me back upright.

"Whoa! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you-" the boy stopped mid-sentence when he saw my face, and his voice turned hard and flat. "Oh. It's you."

I jerked my hand from his, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Watch it, Chad. Remember the little incident last night? I could very well break my promise and tell someone right this very moment. Tween Weekly is on speed dial." Of course that was a lie. I wouldn't tell anyone-once I promise something, I _never_ break it.

But he didn't know that. "But you promised, Sonny!" he protested, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. "A promise is a promise."

"Yes, well, I'll keep that promise if you be nice to me," I sang, teasing him a bit. But my face or voice must've shown that I was teasing, because he immediately regained his composure and rolled his eyes.

"Stop it," he scolded; annoyed. He tried to take a step around me. "I have no time for childish games, Sonny. My dad just gave me another job next to the whole co-manager-thing. He says it's not teaching me anything; I'm still bossing people around. It needs to have me actually _doing_ something, since this whole time, Ross has been doing all the work, while I just-"

"Sit around and do nothing but annoy me?" I filled in. He gave me a look, and shook his head.

"Never mind. The point is, I have to go to my new job." Chad pushed past me, and started running again down the road. I could see that his hair was wet, and when he was near me, he smelled like soap. I guess he was in the middle of taking a bath when his dad told him about his new job. I was curious as to what his new job _was_, so I ran after him.

He led me to the hotel parking lot, and hopped into a huge white bus. It's one of those buses you would use to take about thirty people, when you're touring another country. Except this one says, "James Inn Official Tour Bus", on the side.

I watched as Chad started the engine, and was about to drive, when he looked up and saw me standing there. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and he shook his head. Leaning out the window, he yelled, "What are you doing there?"

"I wanted to see what your new job was," I admitted sheepishly, walking under his window so we didn't have to yell so much. Chad stared at me for a moment with an expression I couldn't figure out. It was a mix between amusement, happiness...and something else-confusion?

Finally, he sighed, and pressed a button on the bus. The doors on the other side swished open, and Chad turned back to me with an exasperated look. I could tell he wasn't really annoyed or mad, though. "Get in."

When I gave him a confused and surprised look, he added, "You said you wanted to see what my new job was, didn't you?" I stared at him in shock for a moment, but then nodded, and ran around the side to the front door, and went inside the bus. It was cool here; the air condition must be turned on. It was the perfect amount of temperature to have on a hot, sunny, day like this one.

There were seats lined down in rows of two behind Chad's seat. They looked really comfy; each of the seats had a pillow and blanket for the passengers. And, like everything else in James Inn, they were blue and white.

A patting sound behind me snapped me out of my reverie. I turned to see Chad patting a blue seat beside him. "Sit here," he ordered, then jerked his thumb back to the seats, "Those are for the guests." I sat in the passenger seat beside Chad and buckled my seatbelt, while Chad closed the bus door, and started driving.

"So is that your job, then?" I asked him, while he drove out of the hotel parking lot. "Driving around guests for tours?"

Chad shook his head, and made a disgusted face. "That would just be a waste of my time. Well, so is this, but that's even worse."

"Then what is your job?" I turned back to the rows of seats in the back, and wondered what else this bus could be used for. I had come up with about thirty possibilities when Chad answered.

"I'm supposed to pick up guests, and bring them to the hotel. You know, like if they're from another country, and have no rides here, I'd have to pick them up to the airport. And it goes the other way around too. If someone from the hotel is leaving to the airport, but has no ride, then I'd have to drive them there. Basically, I'm just another means of transportation."

"That's _it_?" I gave him an incredulous look. "But...this bus is so..._huge_ and all you're doing is driving them to and from the hotel? Couldn't you have gotten a bus that wasn't as expensive?"

"'James Inn guests always deserve best'," he answered, making his voice go deeper; sounding like he was imitating someone. Chad rolled his eyes. "That's what my dad says. So if you have a problem with this bus, go take it up with him."

"I don't have a problem with it," I said, "I was just saying that it's kind of big and too..._nice_ for just picking up and dropping people off. But then again, maybe that's why everyone loves this hotel so much."

"Whoop-dee-doo."

I laughed. "You know, is it just me, or is there a lot of blue in the hotel?" Chad smiled, and glanced at me sideways again.

"No; there is a lot of blue..." He made a left on Ellesmiere Road.

"Why?"

Chad grinned, and quirked an eyebrow at me. "Why do you think? No, here's a better question: What color are my eyes, Sonny?"

_A beautiful, sparkling, sea of striking blue..._"Blue," I answered out loud. He gave me a funny look that made me turn away and blush. It was like he actually read my thoughts.

But all he said was, "Right."

"So? What does that have to do with-"

"Since I'm their only, and most precious, beautiful child..." I rolled my eyes, making him smirk, "It's obvious that my parents would want to include some of me in their business. Plus, blue _is_ a very good color."

I shrugged, and made a "nyeh" sound. "Yellow's much better."

Chad chuckled and shook his head. "You know that's really bias, right?" He glanced at me sideways, and raised his eyebrows at me. I gave him a look of my own, and smirked.

"Ironic, isn't it, Mr. I'm-their-only-and-most-precious-beautiful-child?" I shot back, making him chuckle again. I smiled to myself as I stared out the window. I liked the fact that I could make him laugh a lot-and the fact that we were actually having a normal, civil, conversation. I think the whole drunk incident changed him for the better.

All too soon, the bus came to a halt in front of a curb. The curb was in front of a very big building, with a sign that said, "Airport Entrance". Chad switched to the 'park' gear, and hit the button to open the bus doors. He climbed out of the driver's seat, and jumped down the steps of the bus-but not before reaching to one of the seats to grab a white sign.

"Wait here," he ordered, before heading off to the entrance of the airport. Despite what he told me to do, I unbuckled my seatbelt, and jumped out of the bus to follow him inside. He was in the waiting area, and was holding the white sign above his head. I realize now what it was for. The sign says, "James Inn Tour Bus", for the guests coming to stay in his hotel.

I stood beside him, after pushing my way through the crowd of people there, and smiled up at him. His eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically, looking panicked. "Sonny!" he cried, lowering the sign a bit to turn and talk to me.

"What?"

"I told you to stay in the bus!" Chad groaned, and peered over me to look outside. I saw him sigh with relief, but then glared at me. "You don't listen, do you? Who's guarding the bus, now if you're here?"

"Oh," I said, lamely. "I didn't know-"

"Did you at least lock the door?" Chad interrupted, looking irritated. I shook my head, and smiled sheepishly at him. He exhaled sharply, and rolled his eyes. "Hold this." He pushed the sign to me, and made his way back to the bus. I held the sign up above my head like he was doing, and a few seconds later, I felt someone's arms on mine, taking the sign from me. I turned to see Chad holding the sign up beside me.

"Sorry," I said to him. He shook his head, and used one hand to wave it off airily.

"It's okay. Just listen to me next time."

I was about to protest, but it seems like I was already giving him a hard time, so I decided to just let it go. I nodded, and smiled innocently up at him, before he went back to holding the sign. About a few minutes later, a group of excited, but tired people, walked towards us. Chad greeted them nicely, and then guided them expertly back to the bus. When they were all buckled in, he introduced himself as their "tour guide for today", and me, as his "assistant". I glared at him when he said that, but again, he waved an airlily hand at me, and started the car.

I buckled my seatbelt, as Chad started down the road, pointing out a few sites to the tourists. He looks very calm, and at ease when he talks, and I realized that maybe he _does_ have a chance to run the hotel next. He was very good at his job. But I didn't tell him that.

I felt someone tapping me from behind, and turned to see a boy with brown hair grinning at me. He was really cute, but I could tell we weren't going to be good friends. It's just from the way he carries himself-I could tell how arrogant he was.

"Hey," he said, nodding his head. I nodded, and smiled back. "I'm Seth."

Nodding my head, I gave him a forced smile. He looked kind of creepy-no matter how cute he was. Out of the corner of my eye, I felt Chad staring at me. I swiveled in my seat, and was about to turn back, when he tapped me again.

"So, you see," he began; a cocky grin on his face. "Since I'm new and unfamiliar with this place, I was hoping you could give me directions to your room?" Chad made a choking sound beside me. I glanced at him sideways to see if he was alright, but he looked fine to me-just a bit shocked, and...disgusted.

I made my face look as sweet and innocent as possible, and gave Seth with what I _hoped_ was a flirty smile. "Oh? So you want directions to my room, huh?" Moving closer to him, I blew a breath on his face.

He smirked, and moved closer too. "Yeah. I get lost _really_ easily." I let out a small, girly giggle-one that would usually come out of those flirty girls-and moved even closer.

"Well, then you should get a map, because I'm not letting you anywhere near me." And with that, I turned back in my seat; my hair whipping around with me so that it brushes his face. When I looked in the rear-view mirror, I saw his shocked look, and heard Chad's loud snickering.

I felt Seth move back to his seat, and breathed a sigh of relief. As I looked at the teen star next to me, I saw that he had a huge smile on his face, and was still snickering. I slapped his arm lightly, and shook my head. "What?" he mouthed, still smiling.

"Stop it," I hissed, "It's rude to laugh."

"It's not my fault the guy has no _moves_," Chad said, popping his collar, "Like _me_, of course."

I rolled my eyes, and slapped his arm again. "Keep your hands on the wheel! We're on a highway, in case you haven't noticed."

He placed his hands back on the wheel-the same silly grin still on his face. I rolled my eyes at his antics, and stared out the window as the tourists behind us talked in hushed voices. "Sonny."

I turned to Chad. "Yes?"

"Did you find him attractive?"

"Who?"

Chad gave me a look, then quickly turned back to the road.

"Seth?" I asked quietly, not wanting him to hear me. Chad nodded. "Oh. Well, he's okay."

And then he was back to cocky Chad in less than a second. With a smirk, he asked, "Out of the two of us..."

I held my hand up and cut him off. "Save it. Neither one of you are good-looking."

"Oh, come on, Sonny," he urged. "There has to be _someone_ you think is better looking. Just pick one."

"No. Both of you are ugly." He chuckled at my bluntess, but continued.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No! Chad, I'm not going to-"

"Are you scared?"

"What?" I whipped around to face him, giving him a look of surprise and confusion. "Scared of _what_?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, and made a left on Ellesmere. "That's what I used to tell someone when I was younger to taunt them into doing whatever I wanted them to do."

I laughed. "Well, we're not five anymore, Chad. So try something else."

"Fine." And before I knew what he was doing, he slammed the brakes on the car, making the car screech to a halt. My head slammed against my seat, along with the other passenger's heads. I gave him a what-did-you-do-that-for? look, which he ignored. He stood up, grabbing the attention of all the passengers on the bus.

"Sorry for the delay, everyone," he said, flashing them his famous cocky smile. "But we're going to have to stop and wait here until my assistant, little-Ms-Sonny here-" Chad glanced down at me, pointing me out to everyone with his eyes, then glanced back up, "-tells me who she thinks is cuter; me, or that _thing_." He nodded his head towards Seth, spitting the words out icily.

Seth, who was just getting ready to fall asleep, woke up instantly, and looked at me in surprise. Then he regained his composure, and smirked cockily. I groaned, slouching in my seat. Wasn't one arrogant jerk enough in my life? Did I really need to add another one? Though I'd rather have an arrogant, conceited TV star, than the arrogant, creepy, jerk.

The passengers groaned, and I heard one guy shout, "Neither of you!" I stood up, and pointed to the guy, giving him a grateful smile.

"Thank you! I've been trying to tell him that." Turning back to Chad, I told him, "See? Neither of you are cute. Now just get us back to the hotel."

But he won't budge. Instead, he came and stood closer to me with a pout, and a stubborn look on his face. "No. Tell me who's cuter first-and the truth." He was about a foot taller than me, so I had to shrink back a little because we were so close. The fact that we were standing so close gave me shivers, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to feel any attraction to him, even though, deep down, I know I do.

As if he sensed my awkwardness, Chad took a step back; giving me some space. "Chad, if I tell you who I think is 'cuter'-" I made quotations with my arms, and rolled my eyes, "-will you drive us back to the hotel?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Only if you promise to tell me the abosolute truth." Dang, he was tough. I could see that his mind was made up though, and that there's no way I could get him to drive us back if I didn't give him what he wanted. So I sighed, and grudgingly agreed-for the passengers, of course.

"Fine. I think...." I hesitated, and looked back and forth from Seth-who was smirking confidently-and Chad-who was trying to look nonchalant and casual, but only succeded a bit. I could see he was really eager, and anxious to know the answer. I wondered why though...

I shook my head, and focused on what to answer. Should I go with the truth? Or lie? And if I did go with the truth, what are the consequences? I know that he will definitely make fun of me either way, so I decided to tell them the...- "Chad is the cutest," I answered softly-

Truth. As I said before, I'd rather have the arrogant TV star, than the arrogant creep. Plus, I've always thought no one could compare to Chad-not that I would ever tell him that. I watched as a bunch of different emotions appeared on Seth and Chad's faces. With Seth, the smile on his face wiped off almost immediately when I said that sentence, then he looked embarrassed, and then a bit upset, and now angry. With Chad, the worry in his face disappeared, and he gave me a genuine smile, and now was grinning cockily again.

"Why him?" Seth whined, on his feet now. I started walking back slowly, because he looked really intimidating. A pair of strong hands caught me from falling backwards on the seat, and I turned around to see Chad holding me. He was giving Seth a hard glare, and pushed me away gently; standing in front of me like a bodyguard.

"Because she has good taste," he answered for me, smirking his usual arrogant smirk. But this smirk had sort of a hard edge to it. His expression looked sweet, and casual on the outside, but from the way he was carrying himself-standing in front of me so stiffly-and from the way he was talking very curtly and sharp, I knew he didn't like Seth very much. "And when she answered so quietly, she feels guilty that she's not picking you-although I don't know why..." he glanced at me quickly, a small smile appearing on his face. But when he turned back to Seth, his tone was guarded again. "But anyways, she feels guilty because she's a caring person. She cares about your feelings. Now I, on the other hand, don't care about your feelings. So whether you're upset or not, it really isn't my concern."

He looked at me again, before turning back to Seth. "I bet you she would feel guilty if she asked you to leave-no matter how much she wants to-but I won't. So unless you want to be walking the rest of the way back to the hotel, I suggest you shut up, and sit your a-uh, _butt_-back down." I knew why he caught himself before swearing-there were kids on this bus too. And I've got to admit, I was really impressed at how he stood up for me.

If looks could kill, Chad and I would be long dead by now. Seth was glaring so hard, I swear his eyes would fall out. But all he said was, "Yes, sir," and sat back down on his seat grudgingly.

Chad smiled triumphantly at me, and then told the group of passengers staring at us, that he'll start driving back now. He placed his hand on the small of my back, and led me back to my seat. We buckled up, and just as he was starting the car again, I looked over at him and smiled. "Thanks, Chad."

"No, thank _you_," he replied, making me furrow my brows in confusion. He grinned at me. "For having such _great_ taste in guys. Because, Sonny, you made the right choice picking yours truly as the cutest."

* * *

_A/N: Yeah, so I know I'm late, sorry again. But I hope you like this chapter, and I didn't spellcheck this because I wanted to get this out as fast as possible since I'm already late. So mind the mistakes, please and thank you. _

_And again, thank you all so, so, much for all of the reviews! Hundred, people! Thank you, and review, please!_


	12. Mr Smoochie Smoochie Sonny

_A/N: Hello, wonderful people! So I missed Halloween, of course, as I predicted. On my hiatus author's note, I said Happy Halloween already, so not a problem. But uh, I'm still on hiatus, I just felt like updating right now. So here I am. I think it's because I read some pretty amazing stories by some pretty amazing authors on here._

_If you haven't read it, please do, because they are all really well-written. _Especially**addicted2SWAC**_'s, because even though she JUST started on here, she's already writing like a pro. So please read her story, "Sonny With a Chance of Cafeteria Work"._

_And another thing...it was my birthday on November 5. And I wanted to update, but didn't make it in time :( so sorry for that. _

_But....as you guys know, _**Charley**_'s my missing sister. And she made the sweeettteeeest video ever for me! And I just love it so much! Thank you Charles. I know I already said that, but yeah. She included the first story she read on mine, which actually built our friendship, and the long review she wrote, AND the song! "When I'm With You" by Faber Drive. She knows I love that song, and so she included it in the video! AND she included the duke guy (lol) which is Channing Tatum (I think that's his name. Lol, I'm going to keep saying "the duke guy") and Sterling Knight in the video which she knows I love, and she loves too. And, she also got everyone who watched the video to wish me happy birthday as well. So thank you for that too. And to _**klcthenerd **_who also wished me a happy birthday! Thank you. And some guy or girl wished "Happy Birthday Remy" and I started laughing so hard. That was hilarious. Anyways...thank you Charley :) You're awesome, sis. _

_And if you want to watch it (which you should, even though it's not about you, lol) here's the link: _.com/watch?v=YOzmNNeB_9A _(for some reason, it won't let me say the site's name, which is youtube. So just type in youtube before it, and paste it on.)_

_I'm so sorry I haven't responded to all of your reviews in a while. Been busy, as you know. So yeah; forgive me! But I really do appreciate them, so thank you. _

_And this chapter is dedicated to:_

**dominique-han, devil6967, cecills, UndeniablyFabulous, mahjong90mulan, pompeystar, beckybubble, Krystal Oceans, , sweet blossom89, **_and to my anonymous reviewer_**, lolz3 () **_(omg, you're like the sweetest person ever! thank you so much. lol, haha, when i see one of my favourite stories have been updated, i squeal and scream too, but i didn't think anyone would do that to my stories, so thank you soooo much. i swear, im so happy to have you reading my stories :) you just make me smile all the time with your reviews. thank you)_

_And anyone else who reads but I don't know they do. Thank you so, so, sooo much. You guys don't know how happy you make me :) _

_Disclaimer: I asked myself when I saw my reflection in the mirror: "Katherine, do you own Sonny With a Chance?" Sadly, the (pretty) girl staring back at me shook her head slowly, telling me that, in fact, no, I don't own Sonny With a Chance. Ever since then, I've sworn off looking in mirrors again. Moving on...

* * *

_

11. Mr. Smoochie-Smoochie Sonny

**SPOV:**

"How about this?" My roommate held up a long, purple dress with black beads embodied around the neckline. It was made of fine silk, I could tell, since this store _was_ especially famous for that. "Do you think this is what people wear to plays?"

I shrugged, and stepped closer to examine the beautiful material further. "Looks like it. I mean, you have to wear fancy things, right?"

Alex shrugged as well, and held the dress up to her body again. She smiled. "I love it. I love the material; so soft."

"Me too."

My roommate checked the price tag, and her eyes practically bugged out of her head. She frowned, her forehead creasing. "One-thousand four hundred and three," she muttered glumly, sighing as she returned the dress on its hanger, and placed it back on the rack.

"Let's get out of here," I suggested, linking my arm through hers. "This store only reminds us how we _can't_ afford things in life." Alex turned to me with wide eyes as I swung open the doors to the exit.

"_You_ can't afford it?" she asked incredulously. "But-But...you're a _star_! You must be rich with lots and lots of money, and-"

"Unfortunately," I interrupted, "They don't pay as much to amateur actresses who are _just_ starting out."

"But you're amazing!" Alex looked like I'd just told her the world would come to an end soon, and be overrun by jumping monkeys wearing a hula skirt and coconut bra, while dancing the _Macarina_. Of course, nothing's _too_ impossible.

I gave her a small grateful smile. "Thanks. But if I was, why am I working at James Inn, then?"

Alex gave no reply to that. All I heard her mutter was, "That's unfair."

_Life's unfair, my friend, _I thought in my head. We had been walking around this small off-the-coast island for the past hour, stooping inside the stores every once in a while. It was Alex's idea, really; to take a break from our crazy workplace. After our all day shop-till-you-drop day, we were going to go to a concert taking place at the hotel tonight. They were supposed to have a surprised celebrity guest tonight, and both Alex and I are excited to see who it was. I heard the show paid a _ton_ to get in, but somehow, Alex managed to get us both tickets.

This was her idea too; the girls day out. She thought we both could use a break, after the week we had. Besides, we have to take a break now and then if we're ever going to survive this hellhole for another two months.

So she told me about this small island a little farther off from the town. We took a boat for visiting tourists here, and I was amazed at how big this part of California was. The vast open sea, brought wonders to my eyes. It was a nice day out too; not too hot or not too cold. There was just the right amount of wind blowing gently into my face when we rode out here.

I couldn't see the island at first, but then as we neared the small piece of land, I saw a small tiny green dot when I narrowed my eyes and peered intently out the horizon. It turned out to be a bunch of trees cluttered together. When the boat finally stopped, Alex and I hopped off, and started strolling down the beach. We had to take off our shoes, since it got wet from getting off the boat. I didn't mind though; the warm sand tickled my feet nicely, and I couldn't help but giggle the first time we dug our feet into it.

Alex led me to the main center of commerce on this tiny island. It was filled with buzzing activities, with people running out and about. It was like a marketplace; everywhere you look, you'd see lots of booths and stalls with precious, exotic items perched on them, and the vendors behind the stalls, waving their arms frantically, and shouting out deals and bargains, to catch the attention of their consumers.

Now, after about two hours of nonstop shopping, we were sitting perched on a bench in the center of the bustling activities.

I sighed, and leaned back on the bench, closing my eyes to try and relax. Eventually, my neck and back started to ache, so I sat up, and rubbed it gently, trying to massage myself.

"Alex," I whined, still rubbing my sore back, "My neck hurts. Why did we have to walk for so long?"

"What?" Alex was looking at a store in front of her that said, "Mindy's Music Store". She was in a dream-like trance, and not paying attention to me at all. "O-Oh. Right, sorry. You want to go to that store?"

I gave her a look. "Did you not hear what I just said? No, I don't want to go into that store. My back hurts!"

She waved her hand airily at me, and gave me a bored look. It didn't seem like she was paying attention at all. "They sell the _best_ CD's," she continued, a smile lighting up in her face.

"Alex!" I snapped at her. "Are you even listening to me?"

"What?" she asked again, only turning her gaze to me for a second, before fixing her gaze on the store once again. "O-Oh...sure, sure. I'm going to go to the store. You want to come?" she murmured, already getting up from the bench.

"No! I said I-"

But she was already off running into the store; a wide smile planted on her face.

I groaned, and leaned back onto the bench to start massaging myself again.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. Can't stay away from me, can't you, Sonny?"

I didn't need to turn around to know who that was; I knew that voice anywhere. Instead, I just simply ignored him, and continued (unsuccessfully) trying to massage my back, hoping he would leave. I should've known better though. Chad doesn't leave until he completes whatever he came here for-usually, to get me so annoyed and ticked off.

I felt him take a seat beside me, and I willed myself not to turn around. I felt a tap on my shoulder, but again, I still didn't turn around. He chuckled softly. "Don't be ashamed. It's bound to happen sometime-I'm just curious why you chose for it to happen now."

At that, I couldn't keep the anger that was threatening to come out. Whipping around, I started to snap at him angrily. "I am _not_ in love with you, Chad! I never was, and I _never_ will be!"

He smirked that annoying (but cute at the same time) smirk of his, and said calmly, "I never said you were."

I could feel my eyes widening, but I decided to ignore that comment, and turn away from him again. Unfortunately, he shifted closer to me, making me move away. That only made him move closer, making me, inch away even further. We continued this until I was at the very edge, and couldn't move anywhere else.

"Chad!" I yelled, not caring who watches. "Stop that! You _live_ to torture me, don't you?"

He grinned, but then turned serious. "Why were you scratching yourself?"

I rolled my eyes. "My back hurts and-"

"Oh, thank _god_." He sighed in relief; putting one hand to his heart. "I thought you got rabies or something, and was trying to get it off."

I narrowed my eyes at the stupid blonde. "I was massaging myself, not scratching."

"Whatever," he scoffed, "You look stupid either way."

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took three deep breaths and let them out slowly, to refrain from rolling my eyes, or shooting out a sarcastic comment at him.

When I looked up, the corners of his lips were curved slightly, and I could see he was trying really hard not to laugh. His amused expression only made me madder.

"Chad," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice levelled by gritting my teeth. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"I came here at the age of three to be start my acting debut," he wise-cracked. "Of course, at that time, I was only playing the part of the main male's son-_but_ it was also on a drama. They called it..._Mickey's Stream_, I think. Not as great of a title as _Mackenzie Falls_, but close enough. Whatever show that has me in it, is _always _the best. Plus-"

I held up a weary hand to cut him off from his pointless babble. "I meant 'here' on this island, Cooper."

Chad quirked his eyebrows at me curiously; his eyes dancing with amusement. "Huh. _Cooper_, huh, Sonny?" Pausing, Chad shook his head slowly, and the smile that was beginning to form on his face disappeared. He was dead serious now. "What happened?"

I was caught off guard by his sudden change of moods. "What do you mean, 'what happened'?"

"Usually, you only call me by my last name when you're in a bad mood," he answered, the humour crawling back into his voice. But I could still detect the seriousness in his eyes, and a hint of worry in them. "What happened that caused you to be in a bad mood?"

"Nothing." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, because he was sitting far too close to me than he should.

"Sonny..." He gave me an I-know-you-better look, and his tone was a bit of a "tell me" kind of tone. It was the tone he used on me only when he wanted something-and right now, he wanted the truth.

I was about to lie to him again, but it was pretty hard when our faces were only mere inches apart. Staring at the wonderful sea of splendour that happened to be his dazzling blue eyes, I knew I couldn't lie-not in this position, at least.

My heart was thudding loudly when I answered with a nervous stutter. "M-My...back hurts." I felt so lame for being in such a bad mood just because my _back_ was hurting. It seemed like the most trivial thing in the world to be in a bad mood for. I just felt like such a ridiculous baby.

I expected Chad to laugh or sneer at me, but he just smiled-not a cocky, arrogant, or amused smile, though-but just a regular plain smile. A smile that you rarely get to see with Chad. It was the Chad smile-the _real_ Chad smile.

He moved away-but only slightly-and nodded. "Ah. I see how that can be a trigger to your cranky attitude." It might have been a sarcastic comment, coming from him, but looking into his eyes, I saw nothing but those deep blue beautiful orbs of his.

He made a motion with his fingers that told me to turn around. I hesitated, unsure of what he was doing. But he gave me a look, and just kept making that same motion, insisting I turn around. I finally do, and was surprised to feel his hands on my back-massaging the knots in them away.

Chad kept massaging me until either his arms got tired, or people were starting to stare. Finally, he removed those warm hands of his, and tapped my shoulder, telling me to turn around. "Better?"

I nodded weakly, not knowing what else to do. My mind was still in the post-massage phase, and it could not process a coherent-enough sentence-or word, for that matter.

He chuckled, but his smile faltered when he saw Alex coming towards us. I think I heard him groan, and then saw him roll his eyes a bit. "Ugh. Not her again."

I laughed; my mind coming together well enough now, that I could respond to that. "Why don't you like Alex?"

He made a face, and looked distant for a moment, making me think that he was having a mini flashback inside his head. Then I remembered I hadn't been there the morning he woke up after his drunken incident; Alex had. I wondered what Alex could've possibly said to him that would make him this embarrassed to face her. I made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"Sonny, look what I got! I can't believe you didn't come in with me. This store's _amazing_, I mean, yeah you're tired and all but so what-" She stopped abruptly when she saw the boy sitting next to me. Smirking, Alex put one hand-the hand that wasn't holding the tiny shopping bag-on her hip. "Well. _Now_ I know why. Hello, Mr. _Smoochie-smoochie Sonny_."

_Now _I see why Chad hates her so much. I cast my glance from Alex to Chad, who looked like he was ready to slap her with the shopping bag in her hand.

"Sonny. Why didn't you just tell me you guys were meeting each other? I wouldn't have gotten mad."

My eyes widened, and I could feel my cheeks turning pink. "I-I didn't...I mean, _we_ didn't..."

"Nobody planned to meet anyone anywhere. Sonny was sitting on this bench when I found her, and realized she _must_ have been following me or something." His genuine and 'real' demeanour vanished, and he was back to cocky old Chad again.

"Sure, sure," Alex said, sounding exactly like a certain werewolf from a certain book. "You _found_ her."

"I did," Chad insisted. Alex opened her mouth to say something, when a familiar sneer made us all turn around.

I recognized her voice well enough to know who she was before I saw her bright, long, red hair, falling down her back, and as straight as ever.

"Chaaad..." she purred, quirking a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. "Where were you, sweetie? I told you to wait for me by the dock, yet you went scurrying off by yourself and found a...whatever _she_ is-" Chelsea wrinkled her nose at me, "-and started..._talking_-" By the way she said 'talking', it seemed like she knew that wasn't all we were doing. "-to her, while you left poor little ol' me back at the dock alone. I was scared, you know-thinking something could've happened to you-or-or...you could've gotten hurt or something."

Chelsea ran towards Chad, and threw her arms around him, eloping him in a big, rose-scented, hug. She pretended to sniffle loudly. "Don't _ever_ leave me alone like that again, do you hear me?"

Both Alex and I rolled our eyes, knowing it was such a bad and fake act. Chad, I think, knew it too, because I saw him go stiff when she hugged him. He brought his hands to her shoulders, and tried to push her away gently.

"Sorry," he said in a tone that clearly didn't sound like he was the least bit sorry. He averted her gaze, and caught mine, before staring at the space between us when he spoke next. "I won't..._worry_...you again."

"Pwomise?" Chelsea stuck out her bottom lip, and made it quiver a bit into a not-at-all-attractive pout.

Chad sighed heavily, and I think he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. When he finally answered, his voice was sort of muffled, and you could barely hear it through with his teeth clamped together. "Promise."

"Great!" cried Chelsea cheerfully as she clapped her hands together. "Let's go, now. I saw a few stores I wanted to check out." Chelsea pointed to the opposite direction Alex and I was headed-probably on purpose-and started tugging on Chad's arm. He seemed really resistant to leave, and looked at me for help.

I lifted my shoulders slightly, and he glared at me-as if to say (sarcastically) that I was a lot of help. "Actually, Chels, I was thinking of shopping with Sonny and Alex."

Chelsea stopped tugging him, and gave a long pause before she answered. Finally, she gave us another one of her beautiful, but fake, smiles. "Of course!" she cried, with a little too much exaggeration. "The more the merrier!"

I heard Alex snort from beside me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Actually," I said, standing up and grabbing our bags. I saw Alex do the same. "We were just leaving. We're going back to the hotel to catch the show tonight."

"Isn't that for guests only?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes, but Uncle Ja-I mean, Mr. Cooper gave us permission to attend the show tonight. I guess he was just trying to be nice and welcome me in." I smiled brightly.

Chelsea didn't say anything; she only gave me another fake smile-but this one didn't hold too long; it disappeared as quickly as it came. Now, she only wore a small scowl on her face.

"So Alex and I want to get there early, since it will be crowded," I continued. "We're not going to be let in if there are already too many people."

"Right..." said Chelsea slowly. "We wouldn't want that to happen..." She sounded a bit suspicious to me, because at that moment, a small, wicked, smile crept onto her face. But she only said, "You better hurry up now, or else you won't get in."

I shifted uncomfortably again at her strange tone. "Right..." I said, just as slowly. "See you around, Chelsea..." We waved goodbye to them, and started walking to the docks, but I turned around and called over my shoulder, "Later, Chad. And...thanks."

He gave me a small smile, but it quickly disappeared when he saw Chelsea's green eyes piercing through him like a knife. Alex raised her eyebrows at me, but I just shook my head-not wanting to explain to her the whole back-massaging thing.

Thankfully, she left it alone, and didn't mention anything else about it as we boarded the boat that was to lead us back to the city.

When we arrived at the hotel, we quickly ran to our dorms to put our stuff away and change into new sets of clothes. Then we hurried back to the Cooper Party Room-the room where the party was held the first night here-to reserve some seats for the show.

What we didn't expect, though, was to see a whole bunch of people, swarming inside the room to see the show. I looked at Alex in shock, and saw she had the same expression on her face. There was no way we could get inside now-not in this chaos. There were too many people.

"What are they all doing here?" I asked Alex, raising my voice a bit over the screaming crowd. "The show starts in _two_ hours! What could they be doing here this early?"

"The same reason we are?" Alex said, shrugging.

"All of them at the same time?" I shook my head, as I watch a bunch more people running in. It seemed like there was an endless number of people coming to see the show. The security guards were having a hard time keeping them under control too-it was really easy to sneak in if you didn't have a ticket if there was a lot of people. "That's highly unlikely."

"Well, I don't know!" Alex cried, and then grabbed my arm. "But we better hurry up now, or else we won't get in."

Those familiar words rang a bell in my head that is the answer as to why all of these people are coming in all at once, but Alex had pulled me forward, making me forget all of my thoughts except for trying to get inside. Within seconds, we were lost and blended together with the mass of the growing crowd pushing their way inside.

* * *

_A/N: Well I hope you liked that chapter. I personally, didn't really like it. Probably because when Chad was massaging Sonny, it was kind of like my "A Super-Chad-tastic Massage" one-shot. But the funny thing is, I thought of the massage thing for this one first, before the one-shot. So yeah. _

_Anyways, I hope I'll be off hiatus soon, but I don't know. And again, thank you to my ever-wonderful sister, Charley for making my birthday the best ever. Thank you so much for the video, and remembering that I absolutely LOVE that song. :) _

_So review please! (Really, review. Because I've missed seeing them these past weeks, lol)_


	13. I am Beauty, You are Beast

_A/N: I know, I know. I'm terrible. But please just read on, and hopefully enjoy._

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**Rita**_ () (thank you so much. so sweet of you to say :) yeah, i like long chapters too, lol. not just for writing; for reading too, lol. and yeah, i'll try to update sooner, but im not making any promises, because im still on hiatus.), _**Fluffness**_ (even though she's already been mentioned. anyways, thanks 100 million times, lol, instead of 10, for reviewing. You're the best!), _**raybanlove**_, _**.forever**_, _**DanieAnonymous**_ (cool name! i love how it's anonymous, lol :P), and last but not least, _**Prisquilliard**_ (Thank you sooooo much, and im soo, sooo terribly sorry.),_

_And anyone else who reads. Thanks, everyone!_

_Disclaimer: Nyeh. I have strawberry-chocolate ice cream in a cone in my hands. I'm licking its creamy goodness, and it's just heaven for me right now. I'm good with not owning Sonny With a Chance (for now). Moving on...

* * *

_

12. _I_ am Beauty. _You_ are Beast.

**SPOV:**

Halfway through the crowd somewhere, I lost a hold of Alex's hand. So I was basically forced to weave through the massive crowd of people on my own. When I thought I could no longer stand this, and was going to just roughly push people aside, I came in contact with a big, hard, metal door. Actually, my _face_ came in contact with the door.

There were less people now, and I could see much better. Beside me was a pain-stricken Alex, who was grimacing and holding one hand over her eye.

Eventually, everyone who didn't get in dispersed, until it was only me and Alex. I walked over to my friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She groaned. "Some fat guy holding a donut threw the donut at me, making me slam into this stupid door."

"Okay...I'll take that as a yes." I sighed, and then looked at the closed doors. Inside, I heard lots of shouts and music being played. "This is so unfair. Where did all of those people come from? It's like someone _purposely_ called them to arrive early and make sure that we-"

"-don't get in?" came a snooty voice from behind us. I turned around to see her long, red hair flaming in the wind. "Now. Who would do such a thing?"

"_Chelsea_," Alex hissed; narrowing her brown eyes into tilts. I mimicked her movement, since I was too shocked to say anything. "You just keep going, don't you? Don't you ever have anything better to do than pick on us all the time?"

Chelsea didn't even spare her a glance as she ignored the question. Her green eyes were focused directly on me. "Don't _you_ have anything better to do than to flaunt over Chad all the time?"

"I don't flaunt over him!" I protested; my voice squeaking so much I had to clear my throat several times before I could talk again. "Look, Chelsea. If you want Chad, you can have him. I couldn't care less. Just please stop disturbing the rest of us when I didn't even do anything wrong."

Chelsea released a very unattractive snort and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. And I don't want Chad." I raised my eyebrows at her, but again, she ignored me. "Just...stay away from him."

"My pleasure," I answered harshly. "I do it every day of my life."

Chelsea glared at me one last time before flipping her hair and walking away. I turned to Alex, whose eyes were still glaring at Chelsea's back. "Come on, Alex. Let's go find something else to do."

She cast her glance from Chelsea long enough to scowl at me. "That's _it_? That's all you're going to do? You don't even feel the slightest bit of hatred towards her?"

I winced. "Hate...is a very strong word..."

Alex made a face in disgust and grunted. "You're like...an angel or something. My God. I mean, don't tell me that you don't want to get any revenge on her or anything? None at all?"

I shrugged. "Revenge was never my thing." Which was a lie that Chad, James, Sharona-and all of those other people that I "didn't" get revenge on-would definitely not believe.

"Oh my god! You are hopeless!" Alex threw her hands up in the air and shook her head. She started walking in the direction of our dorms, and I didn't know what else to do except follow her. Alex didn't say anything for a while.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and sighed. "Fine. Maybe sometimes...I feel like she should get a taste of her own medicine. But I just don't really want to ruin my perfect summer. So I don't really want to do the whole...clique thing-where the mean girl always gets what she wants, and then _we_ just _have_ to stop her-or whatever clichéd high school drama that I don't want to experience."

"Come _on_, Sonny," Alex pleaded, gripping my arm. "This isn't high school. It's different."

I shot her a look that said how this could possibly be any different.

"Whatever." Alex bit her lip, and I could see she was trying to come up with a way on how to approach this, and make it as convincing as possible.

"I just think that it's not a good idea, Alex."

"Think about it this way: You're in the best summer job you could ever have. Do you really want to spend your summer working as hard as you can here, being a stick-in-the-mud, or do you want to have some fun that you can remember twenty years from now, and have stories and memories to tell your grandchildren?"

It was my turn to think and bite my lip. She had a point. I mean, as much as I really want to focus on work, and get into a good college, the whole point of me picking _this_ job was _because_ it was so fun. So if I just wanted to work all the time, what's the point in having this job? I'm better off interning at my dad's accounting office if I wanted to work "seriously" all the time.

It's like my dad and his exercising machines-the treadmill, especially. Two years ago, my dad decided he needed to get more fit, and lose some weight. So he bought the treadmill, and created his own mini gym in his basement. But on the day that it arrived, and was placed neatly in the basement, my dad took one look at it and shuddered. He's never even used it once. I told him to get rid of it, since he never uses it, but he always say he'll get to it tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or the day after _that_. It never happens, of course. I think the only reason he keeps the treadmill is to make guests _think_ he's actually working out. It's just a piece of decoration in our basement.

So is this summer job just another treadmill used for decoration for me? Or am I actually going to hop on it and put the thing to good use?

"Alright Alex," I gave her my best devil-like grin and rubbed my hands together, "What's the plan?"

– OOO –

The thing about pranks is that they only work if you're good at them. So, you ask, am _I_ good at them? Well, standing outside the hotel parking lot with a walkie-talkie in my hands, watching the crowd of people make their way out of the bus, and not being able to sit down or rest because I'm too scared Mr. Holman might pop out any minute to bust me, I'd say I'm not the best at pranks. Still, I'm not the worst either. I _could_ be hyperventilating right now.

The "plan" turned out to be the easiest prank ever. All we had to do was put up a sign on the nearest billboard saying there was a promotional deal at James Inn for men who have trouble getting girls. It was one of those dating services for men who _want_ dates, but can't get some. James Inn was supposedly having a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those guys to meet the girl of their dreams.

Now today was three days after the little prank Chelsea played on us, and we chose to wait this long because today was Friday. It was the day where all the senior members of the hotel went out to treat themselves to dinner after a long week of work. So all the big authorities who are usually here to bust us, isn't here today. Still, that doesn't mean they can't come back.

I pressed the button on the walkie-talkie to talk to Alex. "Hello? Come in, Beast, can you hear me? This is Beauty speaking. Over." I let go of the button and waited anxiously for Alex's response.

The device cackled, and I could hear some static there, before Alex's voice finally came through. "We don't have to talk in code, Sonny. And why am _I_ the Beast?"

"Shhh!" I hissed, pressing the button again. "Don't say my name! What if someone was listening to you? Then they'll know who your accomplice is. You never _ever_ say the names in a mission. _Ever_. And always say 'over' when you're done...Over."

This time, she replied almost instantly. "Ugh. This is what I get when working with an amateur." I could just picture Alex rolling her eyes. "Fine, _Beast_. What do you want?" I didn't say anything, even though I knew she was finished. I waited until she finally gave in, and said dully, "_Over_."

I smiled in triumph. "First of all, _I_ am Beauty. _You_ are Beast. You have more of a beast-like personality while I have more of a beauty..." I only paused and released the button for a second, but it was enough for Alex to start talking again.

"Whatever, Sonny! Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright," I said, ignoring the fact she didn't say "over" that time. "The pride of lions just stepped out of the cave. They are now heading towards the jungle; coming your way. Is the hyena in position? Over."

"_What_? Girl, you have to learn to speak normally."

This time, I rolled my eyes. "It's a code! Over."

"_Speak normally_."

"This is what I get for trying to be cool," I muttered to myself, before pressing the button, and speaking into the walkie-talkie, "The men just stepped out of the bus. They are now heading towards the hotel; coming your way. Is Chelsea in position. Over." I said this in a dull, monotone voice, since that seemed to be the only tone of voice Alex likes to hear.

"There you go." I could hear her smile, which made me think she already knew what I was talking about the first time, and just wanted me to speak normally. "Yes, Chelsea's in position. And I see the guys coming towards me. I'm moving out of the way now. Get ready to make our escape." Alex paused, and I heard her sigh. "...over."

I smiled a bit. At least she remembered to say it this time.

I hooked the walkie-talkie on the belt hook on my pants, and started making my way back to the hotel. I had to get to the cafeteria and quickly order food for me and Alex. Alex will then come to the cafeteria, and we'll pretend to eat and chat like we've been here the whole time. No doubt we'll be the first suspects Chelsea will think of.

I couldn't wait to see the reaction on Chelsea's face when she sees how many guys are about to check in. There's no way she'll be able to handle all those people-especially with charm. I smirked proudly and began to skip the rest of the way to the cafeteria.

Unfortunately, the saying, "All good things must come to an end" applied very well in this situation. The minute I saw Chad hiding behind the wall, and spying at Alex a few feet in front of him-who was spying on Chelsea-I came to a halt.

"Chad," I hissed, making him jolt up in surprise. He looked shocked, but then regained his composer and made his face hard as stone. "What are you doing?"

He smirked this time. "Better question is, what are _you_ and your ugly little friend doing?"

I knew better than to act all guilty right away. Alex would not have wanted that from me. She would've wanted me to play it cool and act like I had no idea what he was talking about. She would've wanted me to lie. Sure, easy enough, _if_ I knew how. But I tried it anyway; for the sake of Alex (and my job).

"Nothing," I squeaked. I mentally cursed my stupid voice, and my lack of ability to lie. I cleared my throat and shook my head. Time to try a different tactic. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Friday dinner for senior employees?"

Fighting question with question. Always works with Chad. "I don't like the restaurant they were going to. And it's not like you _have_ to go; it's optional."

_So is this job, _I wanted to say, _yet, you're still here._

When I didn't say anything, Chad took this as an opportunity to shoot another question back at me. "Anyways, that's not important. You still didn't answer my question."

"Neither did you."

"So? You didn't either."

I narrowed my eyes. "I asked first."

Chad crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows as if daring me. I wasn't ready to back down so I did the same. He leaned down a bit to pat my head, and only then did I realize how close we were. Our faces were close enough, that one slightest bit of movement on both parts, could end up in our lips smacking together. Not that I would mind. He had some really soft lips, and all I wanted to do was kiss it.

"First is the worst, second is the best, and third is the one-" Those oceanic eyes of his were dancing with amusement and it was suddenly harder to breathe. How did someone so irritating, end up looking like _that_? How is that fair? It wasn't.

"You're so immature." The words sounded like a million miles away right now. All I could think about was those eyes (and lips) of his. My throat and lips were dry. I licked my lips, and pressed them together to keep me from doing anything I might regret (but really want to).

Chad blinked and his eyes flickered to my lips, and then quickly looked at the ground. It was as if he was embarrassed because he was thinking the same thing. Then he looked up again and smiled slightly; shrugging. "We both are."

I contemplated on what to say next. It was very hard to do-his lips...were just _so_ close. Then I cast a glimpse at Alex-still crouching behind the wall, looking at Chelsea-and that snapped me back to reality. It was like a slap in the face. I self-consciously took a tiny (only tiny) step back, and looked him straight in the eye. "You still haven't answered my question."

Chad's eyes widened a bit, as if he just got slapped in the face as well. I saw him shake his head slightly to clear his thoughts, and he focused on me a bit; like he just woke up from a dream. Instead of firing back a witty comment like I expected him to, he just chuckled. Chad took a tiny step closer to me, so that we were back to the same position we were before I took the step _back_.

His hands reached up to tuck a lose strand of hair behind my ear. "So stubborn." But he said it like a good thing, since he was smiling. I looked up to see that he was staring at me-really staring at me-and I blushed. I could just drown in his eyes-I felt like I was.

"Erm...I-uh..." Very clever, Sonny. "M-My mom...is-stubborn, I mean. So..."

He was still smiling, and then I saw him look behind me, and he jerked a few inches away from me as if he'd just been shocked. The smile on his face was gone, and Chad groaned.

I wanted to turn to see what it was that bothered him, but Chad seemed to know I was going to do that, and stopped me. "Don't look, but Ross and my dad is back." He said this in a low voice; with a smile on his face as if everything was just fine, and we were doing nothing wrong (at least, me and Chad wasn't. Alex and I...that's a whole different story).

"What?" I said, not because I didn't hear him, but because I just couldn't think of anything else to say.

He grabbed my hand, and started lugging me towards Alex. She was still crouching, and her eyes widened when she saw Chad approach. "Listen, Chad. I know what you're thinking, but-"

Chad ignored her and grabbed her arm as well. The three of us started running to the back parking lot of the hotel. We reached his black car and we all hopped inside; me in the passenger seat, Alex in the back, and Chad driving.

He zipped out of the parking lot, and we were driving towards his house in a flash. I knew it was the way to his house, since I've been there many times. But for some reason, it was weird stepping into his house, with Chad actually being there.

I've never seen him in all my visits here with my dad. Never. I'd always known Uncle James had a son-he's always talked about him-I just never knew it was Chad. How stupid is that?

But when I think about it, it does make more sense now. Chad has been acting since he was a kid. I've never seen him in all the times I visited probably because he was busy with his acting career-even as a kid. Still, it felt weird to be in his house with Chad actually being there.

"Make yourselves at home," he said casually, then paused, and cast a sideways glance at me. "Although you already have."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the French au pair, Elise ran up to me and started slobbering me with kisses.

"My, my! Look at you, my Little Son-Son!" she gushed in her accent, squeezing me to death. "You're so big now, eh? _Non, non. _I zon't even recognizzze you. Oh, _cherie_, I have mizzed you."

I couldn't even get a word out. I was too busy focusing on trying to breathe. I must've had looked really purple and stupid, because I saw Chad chuckling hard behind Elise. He tried covering it up by coughing, but I could tell the difference. Apparently, so can Alex, since she slapped him and gave him a look.

He sighed, and then walked towards Elise to try and pull her off me. "Come on, Elise. Let her breathe."

"Oh!" Elise stepped back and giggled. "I zappose you'rre rright..._excusez-moi_, _cherie_. I am zo verry zorry."

I took a deep breath, and adjusted my shirt that had gotten wrinkled, and smiled at her. "It's alright, Elise. I'm sorry I haven't come here as often as I used to."

She gave me a playful glare. "_Oui, oui_. I zappose you have yourr busy...vat vas it, again? _Job_. _Alors_, you arre too busy forr _moi_, _oui_? I zee hov it is."

"No! It's not like that-"

"I underrrztand," she interrupted. "_Mais tu dois telephoner moi de temps en temps._ Okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "_Bien sur_, Elise."

"_Bien_." She gave me another hug-not too tight this time-and I hugged her back. I thought I saw a small smile on Chad's face, but it went as soon as it came. "Nov...vho is hungrry?"

All of our hands shot up immediately. Elise went to the kitchen to get us some food, while Chad led us to his living room to wait. I sat down on the couch I'd spent late nights watching movies with Elise every time I slept over here.

Elise was not only the Cooper's au pair. In a way, she was mine too. She was my best friend in this house when I slept over. I remembered when we used to play hide and seek, since it was such a huge house. And I remembered playing dolls with her, and watching Disney movies (the reason I had chosen Beauty and the Beast as my codename with Alex-it was my favourite out of them all).

I remember when I was sad, Elise would hold me in her arms like a real mother and then comfort me until I stopped crying. She always knew how to cheer me up.

But I also remembered the one time I disobeyed her, and ran to the nearby park by myself when she said I couldn't. She was so scared and frantic when she found me, she started yelling at me (and cursing in French words I didn't understand), and I got so scared of her I started to cry. Surprisingly, Elise started to cry as well. We had both sat in the swing crying and comforting each other. Elise had given me a lecture saying that I should never, ever do that again. It was dangerous, and she was worried sick about me. I promised her I wouldn't, and then we went back inside the house and baked a cake together.

She was my family too in a way. I felt terrible for not calling her often, or not coming here often. I didn't realize how busy Hollywood life can be. I made a promise to myself that I would start calling her more.

"So what are we doing here?" Alex asked, interrupting my trip down memory lane.

"Can you at least _sound_ grateful that I didn't rat you guys out?" Chad snapped at her. It was then that I realize he was sitting really close to me on the couch. Last time I checked, he was standing up.

"Yet," Alex muttered.

"Yeah. 'Yet', if you keep talking to me like that." His voice had taken a threatening kind of tone.

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted her. "Enough, Alex. Let's hear what he has to say."

I looked at Chad, and said in a fairly nicer tone, "Why are we here, Chad?"

"You guys were pranking Chelsea, weren't you?" He smirked, and shook his head. "Let me give you some advice-"

"Don't ever look like you? We got that, thanks." I shot Alex a look to shut up, and she gave me a look that said she did nothing wrong. We just kept giving each other looks, until she finally gave up and sighed. I took that as a victory. Then I tapped Chad's shoulder to continue.

"As I was saying," he cast a glare at Alex darkly, "if you want a prank to work successfully, don't talk too loud that another person passing by can hear you. Oh, and Sonny, you should tell Beasty here that codenames are the _key_ to a good prank."

"I tried; she said it was for amateurs."

"Only _amateurs_ themselves would say that." Chad grinned smugly at Alex, who just rolled her eyes.

"So what you're saying is, you heard everything we said?" she checked, clearly annoyed.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Chad answered. "Anyways, I was walking by and then saw Beasty crouching and spying on Chelsea. Then I saw the crowd of freaky guys march towards Chelsea, and I knew it was you guys getting back at her. It was a pretty clever prank, actually, if I do say so myself."

"Thank-" I stopped when Alex shot me a look, like it was illegal to ever say thank you to Chad. It probably was, considering he was going to rat us out anyways.

"So-what?" Alex continued. "Why don't you just tell on us right now?"

"Why would I do that when I could use this against you?" His sly grin made Alex's eyes narrow into pinpricks.

"Damn you, Cooper." Chad pretended to look hurt, leaning forward, and Alex whacked him on the head. She then marched to the door, and motioned for me to come with her.

"Language, Beast. Language!" he called after her, chuckling to himself. Then he turned to me with a smirk. "You should really keep her in a cage."

I rolled my eyes, pushed him back onto the couch, and marched after Alex.

I was halfway in and out of the house, when he called me back. "Sonny, wait!"

Chad ran up to me, and gave me one of his famous slow grins. "You misinterpreted what I said."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant, I won't tell anyone if-"

"'_If_' meaning you want something," I said, cutting him off. "Same thing."

"Listen to me." He frowned, and looked over his shoulder. "Elise will be very upset if you left without saying goodbye. Plus, I bet you she wanted to talk more."

I looked to the ground in shame but then glared up at him. "Fine. What do you want?"

"I want to be part of the prank," he answered, grinning.

"What?" I didn't think I heard him right. Wasn't he and Chelsea best friends or something? He wanted to get back at her as well?

"I want to be in the prank," he repeated. "I want to prank Chelsea. You let me do that, and I won't tell a soul-how could I if I'm part of the prank?"

"But-"

"You have my word for it," he insisted, staring at me with his intense blue eyes. "I promise."

* * *

_A/N: So I'm sorry for the really late update. But one of my reviewers went back and reviewed a chapter they didn't review yet JUST to tell me to please update and hurry up. So I'm so sorry for taking so long. But thanks to that reviewer, I was able to get this out (it would've been longer than this, trust me, if it weren't for him/her). It was my motivation. So thank you, and I dedicate this whole chapter __**especially**__ to you, _**Prisquilliard.**

_Also, sorry for any grammar mistakes (0n English and French :P). I didn't bother spellchecking on English, and I'm not that good in French either. I did the French part by myself, because Google translate does not help. They have even worse grammar, I think. Anyways, if you're confused as to what that French part meant, it means "But you have to call me from time to time. Okay?" And then Sonny's reply, "Of course, Elise." So yeah. I suck at French, lol. _

_And this long chapter, I hope, makes up for lost time? It doesn't really, but yeah._

_Oh, and I also really like the chapter title for this one. I don't know why; it sounds really cool for a chapter title. :P_

_Review please. _


	14. We Are SO Fired

_A/N: My invincible mantra: I am a horrible writer. I hate me. I am a horrible writer. I hate me. :P _

_SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! i had this maaaajjoorr writer's block, and im sorry. A lot of you heard of it actually, because I basically vented on and on to almost everyone who asked me what was taking so long, and why i haven't updated. LOL, sorrry! school was part of it, but its actually somewhat of an excuse to cover up my real reason, that i'm not woman enough to admit. The dreaded writer's block...O_O _

_So anyways, thanks for everyone who tried their best to help me. Lol, I took so long, I know. But here it is! And I hope that I'll overcome this barrier faster if I ever get it again. :D_

_This chapter is dedicated to (a lot, since I haven't updated in forever...): _

**Fluffness** _(even though she's already been mentioned. you know what? i have to calm myself down every time you review!), _**Prisquilliard**_ (Thank you sooooo much, and im soo, sooo terribly sorry.),_ **eromdaer451QI**, **TeddyLuver**, **tennisgirlxx23**, **ate27dani**, **kaitlynmagic**, **Everafterjunkie**, **Shadowdawn Of Shadowclan** _(BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BEST REVIEWER IVE EVER GOTTEN IN JUST A FEW MINUTES :p THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SWEET REVIEWS. THEY SERIOUSLY JUST BRING UP MY MOOD, THANK YOU!), _**Animegirlfan**, **anime sony**, **mirage888**, **Brenna May** _(SHOUTOUT TO _**xocharleyfletcherxo**_: i got really shocked when i saw this name, and then after my eyes adjusted, i realized it was BRENna...not...you-know-who...:P ahhahaa. lols, sorry for putting you on the spot or something,_ **Brenna May**_. its a loong story, thanks for adding me!), _**.**, **Julia Sonshine**, **J0929L**,** BlueEyesxx **_(did you change ur name or somthing? cus i had a_** .xx **_be4. well, thanks anyways),_** Anichu90**, **'.girl'-8**, **Kita emmett McCarty Cullen**, **Jane Redbird**, **Just a Tucking Fypo** _(lmaaaoo i started laughing and giggling to myself when i saw ur name. i love it),_** LolaAnnabelle47**, **Emica99**, **thatsmymycookie**, **Reflection noitcelfeR**, **Vicasaurus**, **Channyallthewaybaby**, **evesediacm**, **SUMMERG97**, **L. H. smile.**, **Lyfeeee** _(of course not! what kind of ending would that be then? lol),_ **xxBeenieBabyxx** _(WHO IS ALSO AN AMAZING REVIEWER! THANKS FOR ALL OF UR REVIEWS IN ALL OF MY STORIES LOOL, and is my motivation to FINALLY get this chapter up. thanks), _**Tee and Biscuits**,  
_AND TO MY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:_ **hey yo! ()**, **. . . Jadiee . . .**, **ChAnNyFaN ()** _(though i think she's already been mentioned? oh well..thanks so much! lols, but before i write another one, i at least want to be close to finishing this one. ahhaa),_

_And to anyone else who reads. Thanks so much everyone._

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, strawberry ice cream doesn't last forever. So..I'm a little disappointed for not owning Sonny With a Chance, but moving on..._

_ALAS! Now...without further ado...CHAPTER 13 everyone. :D _

_Enjoy.

* * *

_

13. We Are SO Fired

**SPOV: **

"Please, just calm down!" Chelsea was frantically trying to organize the group of men that seemed to be growing endlessly by the minute. They were still in a very long line, and it didn't seem like they were going anywhere until they got what they came here for. "E-Excuse me...please sit down and-and..."

"You realize you could put us out of business with this prank, right?" Chad was whispering in my ear. I shivered slightly from the contact and then mentally slapped myself for reacting that way. Okay. I just have to say my invincible mantra: _I do not like Chad Dylan Cooper. I hate him. I do not like Chad Dylan Cooper. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him..._

I turned around to face him, and caught an accusing stare from Alex, who was crouching behind Chad. She had her eyebrows raised and gave me a knowing smile. I shrugged it off and turned to Chad. "Me? You're part of this prank too, you know."

He blinked innocently at me and gave me a devilish smirk. "_What_? I would _never_ prank my own father's hotel just to put him out of business. Then I don't have to work over the summer. Now _that_ would be a _tragedy_." Chad chuckled to himself and gave me a wink.

"Whatever."

Alex suddenly slapped me on my back, and smacked Chad's arm. We both cried out in pain at the same time and she gave us a look. "Can you stop flir-er...talking so loudly? Keep your eyes on Chelsea. We have to wait for the right time to bring in the nerds."

"Which is when...?" Chad inquired.

"When she starts to get a handle of things. The minute she starts relaxing and thinking she could handle everything..._that's_ when we attack." Alex gave us a short giggle filled with evil laughter in it. This is one of those times where I just think she should get help.

I watched Chelsea as she continued to attempt to put the line of men in a straight and orderly line. Beside her was Mr. Holman; who was talking animatedly in his cell phone, and he didn't look quite that happy. Chad's father was nowhere in sight, so I was guessing he was somewhere in his office trying to settle things down.

"Where's your dad?" I asked Chad.

He smirked. "Some big client of his is coming over later tonight, and he expects to be greeted by Mr. Cooper himself at the airport-no one else. And if he's a minute late, then the client will get all of the people in his contacts list-and he has a lot-and tell them what a horrible hotel this is."

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

Chad's grin only grew wider, and he looked proud of himself. "Marshall was so kind enough to show me some of his acting skills."

I shook my head in disbelief and opened my mouth to reply, but Alex started to scream at us. "It's time! It's time!" she yelled. "Go! Go! Go!"

I ran to the side of the hotel and rounded the nerds, who were talking animatedly to themselves. They ran inside in excitement when I told them it was time to go in, and started attacking Chelsea. Chelsea looked horrified when some of them started touching her hair and face, but the funniest thing of all was when one of them started firing corny pickup lines at her:

"Was your dad a terrorist? 'Cause you are DA BOMB."

"You're like a dictionary. You add meaning to my life."

"Did you fart? Because you blew me away" (Alex was dying after this one; literally rolling on the floor laughing)

"Your name must be lucky charms, because you're magically delicious!"

"I'm a math teacher. One plus two equals me and you."

Chad started banging his fist on the wall, and his face was all red and puffy. The three of us couldn't stop laughing, and I think it lasted for about fifteen minutes until I heard the sound of tires screeching. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a black corvette speed into the parking lot, and then swerving to a stop. Out of the car came the two most dreaded figures I wanted to see that moment and my stomach dropped as a wave of nausea washed over me.

"Uh...oh..." Chad and Alex stopped laughing abruptly as well as Mr. Holman and Uncle James marched towards the hotel lobby with a stern expression on each of their faces. They didn't look happy. I felt someone pull me behind the wall, and then Chad's hand was on my mouth.

"Shh..." he whispered next to my ear. We waited until both men entered the building before coming out of the hiding spot to watch the scene in the lobby. The nerds were still fighting over Chelsea, and her father started yelling at everyone to stop. He looked furious, and even redder in the face than Chad was a few minutes ago. Uncle James also looked angry, but he looked a bit calmer than Mr. Holman, and also a little wearier.

Uncle James sighed and put his hand over his forehead. "What," he started, with his teeth clenched together, "is going on?"

One of the nerds, the boy who started the pickup lines and was wearing these goofy yellow suspenders, spoke up first. "We were instructed to await our lady's arrival outside the main lobby, sir. Each of us were supposed to get one hour with her on a date. But Erick," he motioned to another boy with thick square-framed glasses, "seized my place in line and claimed he was first in line, when it was clearly, me."

"That is a calumny!" The boy named Erick protested, stepping forward to push the suspender boy. "I simply had to empty my bladder, and left this post-it note on the ground to hold my place. I was in line way before you were."

"Only a simpleton like you would place a post-it note on the ground," Suspender boy scoffed, "Who in their right mind would ever be able to see it?"

"Maybe if you had nicer glasses like mine, you would," Erick shot back.

"Are you calling me blind, you moronic dunce?"

"If you weren't such a dimwit, maybe you would've caught my innuendo, and realized I am!"

"It wasn't subtle enough to be called an innuendo, you ludicrous cretin!"

"Ouu! Nerd burn!"

At his comment, everyone stopped doing what they're doing to look at Chad, who was laughing hysterically again. It was like forty pairs of eyes were burning holes in our eyes just by staring at us. Alex groaned beside me, while I nudged Chad to shut up. He didn't.

"Sorry, everyone," he said, still smirking, "Please continue, guys. I haven't seen a good nerd fight like this in my life."

"Chad!" I hissed, "Shut up!"

"What?" He glanced down innocently at me and gave me a saucy grin. "This is too funny. Great idea, by the way, Alex-you know, bringing in the nerds like that." Alex's eyes widened and she looked like she was ready to kill him right then. I was about to stop her when Chad looked at me and continued, "Oh and Sonny, you did _such_ a good job getting all of them inside the lobby-"

He didn't get to finish what he was saying, since, at that moment, a hand had slapped his face really hard and he was in too much pain to continue. I glanced back at the people in the lobby who were watching us and didn't like what I saw. Chelsea was glaring at me with pure hatred shown clearly on her face. Her father matched her expression, but he looked more furious than deadly. Uncle James had that upset expression that grownups use to let you know they're "disappointed" in you-which is even worse than any other expression they could use. And the nerds just looked confused.

For a while, no one said anything. We just continued to stare at each other, until, finally, Uncle James sighed and rubbed his face with his hands before motioning for Alex, Chad, and I to come.

Mr. Holman looked like he was enjoying this. It was like the very thought of my discomfort brought him pleasure and satisfaction. It just goes to show how evil and cruel this man was.

"Ross," Uncle James started, "Get all of these people out. Make sure to give each of them the James Inn gift basket, and make sure they leave satisfied. Give them what they want-whatever it is-just make sure they're _out_. When I come back, I don't want to see any one of them left."

He didn't check if Mr. Holman understood him or not. Uncle James turned to Chelsea next. "Give them _whatever_ they want. If they want a date; they want a date." Chelsea looked like she was about to barf, but she nodded anyways.

It was only the satisfied feeling when I saw her expression that gave me the courage to follow Uncle James when he told us to go to his office. And maybe I shouldn't feel satisfied, because I know what you're thinking. Aren't I just like Mr. Holman if I take pleasure in other people's sufferings? Well, yes. But she deserves it...right?

I snapped out of my thoughts as I caught Alex glaring at me and Chad. "What?" I mouthed to her. She rolled her eyes and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Thanks a lot," she hissed sarcastically, "It was _your_ idea to include him."

"Because he would've told on us!"

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes again. "And he didn't tell on us just now, when we _did_ include him on the prank?" She peeked over my shoulder to glare at Chad again. "Why would he do that?"

To be honest, I really didn't know. I actually thought he was going to keep his promise this time. I mean, he did say he was part of the prank too. Uncle James is not stupid enough to not realize that Chad had something to do with it. By getting us in trouble, he was getting himself in trouble too. So I don't understand why he would do that. We might all get fired after this-

"Oh!" I sucked in a breath as I realized his reason for all of this. Alex gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head and told her "Later". Instead, I turned to Chad, who didn't look the least bit worried for going into his father's office. Just as I thought. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he turned to me, giving me a sweet, innocent smile.

"What?"

"You are the most selfish person I've ever met," I spat at him. His grin dropped instantly from his face and a deep frown replaced it. He put on his "cold" face again and shrugged.

"So?"

I was getting really angry and frustrated with him. "So? Just because _you _don't like this job doesn't mean-"

Alex slapped her hand over my mouth and jerked her head towards Uncle James, who was farther down the hallway. I had raised my voice a little too loud, and he had stopped to see what was going on. Uncle James gave me a sad smile, and waved his fingers to get us to walk faster.

"This way," he said, opening the door to his office. "Sit down, please."

The three of us made our way to the leather couch in the middle of the room; with me sitting in between Chad and Alex. Chad, on my left, was leaning back on the couch-lounging comfortably like this was his own living room. I rolled my eyes and promised myself I would never trust Chad again.

"We are _so_ fired," Alex muttered under her breath. This was the first time since I've been here that I've ever seen Alex actually scared of something. She was always the invincible, brave girl to me who was never scared of anything, and always took risks. "This sucks."

I glanced at Chad again, who was taking all of this very calmly, and I sucked in another breath of frustration. "For some of us, that is," I mumbled back to Alex. "Others might think this is great."

As if he _just_ heard me talking, Chad glanced around the room, and then turned back to me with a grin. "What?" He jerked his thumb towards his chest. "Are you talking about _me_?"

I rolled my eyes, and Alex's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gosh! You did this on purpose!"

Chad smirked in satisfaction. "And the beast finally gets it. I didn't realize you're as stupid as you are ugly."

Alex opened her mouth to respond but Uncle James cut in.

"That's _enough_!" He yelled, rubbing his temples. I suddenly realized something else. Uncle James was growing older every day I look at him. His hair was showing some white in his sun-bleached blonde hair, and his face was starting to spurt out some wrinkles. I guess managing a hotel isn't as gung-ho as everyone thought it was. The business had really stressed him out and aged him.

But as I thought back to the gift baskets he told Mr. Holman to give out to the guests that weren't even supposed to _be_ guests, I knew that this hotel was in good hands. All of his hard work paid off, because this hotel is a great success, and all of his employees respect him, and his guests love him. I guess he worked hard to make this hotel enjoyable not only to the guests, but to all of the employees as well. He's working hard to make everyone _else_ happy, while he himself is stressed out.

But I admire that about him. Unlike his son, he's a very selfless person.

I felt even guiltier for doing this prank. As if he didn't have _enough_ to worry about. Plus, I got this job not because of my hard work and skills, but because of my family connections with him. Which is even worse. So I knew that I had to accept whatever punishment I was given with no complaints.

Unlike Chad, getting fired is what I deserved.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. And I'm sooooo sorry again for the late updates. :(_

_Review?_


	15. I'm Sorry, Uncle James

_A/N: Wowweee! Two chaps in one day? Hope this makes up for the late update? Hmmm? Sorry again. And enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: You know the drill. -_-

* * *

_

14. I'm Sorry, Uncle James

**CPOV:**

"Dad, if you're going to fire us, just do it." I shrugged carelessly, ignoring the daggers Alex was shooting me with her eyes. "No sense in yelling."

My dad whirled around to face me with an irritated look on his face. I can tell he was trying his best to keep calm, but I was making it so much harder for him. "Chad?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Shut up."

Alex snorted, but immediately stopped when I turned to her. I took a peek at Sonny, who was sitting beside me very sullenly, not saying a word. She didn't look as scared as I thought she would be, but she did look ashamed. I wondered what she was thinking now.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and jerked up in surprise to see my father hovering over me. He rolled his eyes and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "I'll talk to you later. Privately."

"Okay, daddy," I answered, smiling up at him, like I wasn't at all afraid of him. He narrowed his eyes at me and then shook his head in frustration as he moved on to talk to Sonny and Alex. Inside, though, I was feeling a little bit guilty for doing this.

To put him out of business just so I don't have to work here anymore _is_ kind of low-even for me. And, as Sonny said, _very_ selfish of me. But my dad has never stayed mad at me for long. Though I knew it was different this time. If I put him out of business, I doubt he'll be as forgiving as he usually is. The thought of him not talking to me made me sick and I mentally gulped.

"Alex, you've never been really good friends with Chelsea," my dad was saying, "But this is just too much. To put your personal issues with your business is very inappropriate. You should know better; this isn't your first year here."

Alex had her head hung low, and she nodded solemnly. "Yes, Mr. Cooper."

"Please take your personal issues elsewhere-actually, anywhere. Just not near anything that could ruin my business, okay?" When Alex nodded, my dad smiled in satisfaction, before giving her another stern frown. "You're punishment-"

"I'm sorry!" she cried out, shooting out of her seat. "I know I deserve to be fired, but I really _really_ like this job. And I'm sorry I did that prank. I swear, I'll never do it again! _Please_ don't fire me! Please, please, please, please, please-"

"Alex! Alex!" My dad held his hand up and rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "You're not fired."

The girl immediately ceased her crying and a large smile broke out on her face, making me think she was acting all along. "I'm not?"

"No, but-"

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Cooper! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She squealed and jumped up and down excitedly as she tackled my dad into a hug. He awkwardly pushed her away with a look on his face that made it seem like he regretted his decision. "You are the _best_ boss _ever_! I'm getting you a present, trust me. What's your favourite colour?"

Dad rolled his eyes. "You are not fired, _but_ you _are_ being punished."

Alex forced a smile on her face and nodded reluctantly. "That's…fair."

"Hmm." My father leaned back on his desk and regarded her with a cool expression on his face; his eyes shining with a hint of mischief. I could see where I get my looks from. "Since this whole prank started from your hatred towards Chelsea-"

"She started it!" Alex interrupted, earning a warning look from Dad. "Sorry."

"-you're punishment is to make it up to her," he continued, "You will be her assistant all through next week. If she wants you to get her water, you get her water. Whatever she needs you to do; you do it with no complaints, sarcasm, or any one of your snarky comments. Understood?"

I took in Alex's shocked and horrified expression with glee. I wanted to laugh at her out loud, but I knew my dad would disapprove, so I started coughing to hide it. This made Sonny turn around to give me a questioning and curious look, but I just shook my head.

"I…" Alex was at a loss for words, for once.

"Unless you want the other option," Dad offered, quirking his eyebrow, "And that is, no punishment, but no job?"

"No!" She cried out, almost instantly. "No. I'll…" Alex swallowed, and mumbled miserably, "I'll…do it." She closed her eyes and made a face, as if Chelsea was right there in front of her.

My dad smiled triumphantly. "Good. You can start on Monday, right after you finish work, to the time she finishes work-since she has a later work period than you do."

"Yes sir."

"You may go now." He motioned to the door, and Alex nodded, a pout on her evil face.

Once Alex left, my father turned to Sonny. His face instantly changed into a much softer expression. I've always known that the daughter of his best friend would be cherished by him, but I just never expected it to be Sonny. It's still a shock that we've never actually known about each other all these years.

Sonny didn't even look at him; it was like she couldn't bear to do so. But my father just kept staring at her with an expression he's never given to any of his employees, but it's an expression that I get from him in the rarest of times. It was the expression of a father looking at his child.

"Sonny," he started, speaking in a very gentle tone, "Talk to me."

She tentatively brought her head up to look at him, only to have it hanging low again in a second. Sonny released a sigh and whispered, "I'm sorry, Uncle James."

"You're not fired either, you know that, right?"

There was a pause, but then eventually came a nod. "Yes, but I deserve to be."

I stared at my dad, and saw him purse his lips in a thoughtful expression. Nodding, he smiled and crouched down in front of Sonny, cupping her face to look at him. "You also deserve a second chance."

Sonny let out a sound I couldn't identify, and for a shocking second, I thought she was crying. But then she sniffled a bit and brought her head up, giggling. Then the corner of my dad's lips tugged up into a smile, and he was laughing too. I stared at my father and Sonny, giggling to themselves, with a totally confused and lost expression.

"What's so funny?"

Dad settled down, and he gave me a sideways glance. "Inside joke," he answered, giving Sonny a wink. "Maybe if you're nice to her, she'll tell you." This made Sonny burst out laughing even harder, with my dad chuckling along with her.

I huffed at them both and got off the couch. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." I walked towards the small private kitchen my dad has in his office and started brewing up some coffee. I could hear them talking in hushed voices about something, Sonny giggling once more, and then the door of the office opening and closing.

The steam out of the coffee machine was whistling loudly, but I still heard my father's footsteps as they neared me. He sat on the stool in front of me and passed an empty cup to me. I caught it with ease, and tapped my fingers as I waited for the coffee to finish.

In the meantime, Dad was staring at me with an intense look on his eyes; creasing his eyebrows in worry. I was staring at him with my ultra-cool-couldn't-care-less look. We continued giving each other looks, until Dad finally cracked and sighed. "Chad."

"Dad."

He rolled his eyes. "_Chad_."

I mimicked his movement. "_Dad_."

"Enough." He narrowed his eyes at me, as if daring me to try and mock him again, and see what would happen then. I took a seat on the counter, and poured him and myself a cup of coffee. "You know what you did wrong."

"Yes, I do," I replied earnestly, looking at him straight in the eye.

He regarded me with a surprised expression. "Really? Then tell me."

"I should have sent you off to a farther place, so you'd take longer to get here." I smirked in satisfaction, while my dad hung his head back and huffed in frustration.

"You should never mix in your personal issues with business. I've told you that thousands of times already. Why do you never hear what I'm saying?" He didn't look angry. He looked exhausted; like he's been through this so many times before, and he's tired of it.

I took a sip of my coffee. "I do hear what you're saying. I just don't listen to you."

"Why?" Dad crossed his arms and sighed. "Why do you feel the need to go against everything I tell you to do? What is it you want?"

"Well, what do you think? I don't want to work here. I want to go home, and chill like any other teenage actor wants to do in his summer. Why am _I_ the one who's forced to work here? What about all those other actors and actresses?"

"Sonny-"

"She's different," I interjected, "She actually _wants_ to be here. I don't." I rolled my eyes and muttered, "That's one of her many stupid but cute traits. She works hard for something that she could easily get with the money she's earned from her show. She wants to do it herself because she's stubborn that way."

"And you don't? I don't get what's so bad about being _normal_. I think you'd get a lot more out of earning something by working hard for it yourself, instead of everything always being _given_ to you by show business-"

"Dad, I _am_ working!" I yelled, "Going on the show every day, whether you're sick or tired or just don't feel like acting that day, you still have to go because you're bind in some contract you signed. You still have to give it your all even when you don't feel like it. You don't think that it gets tiring sometimes? To deal with all that pressure? And what about the auditions? You think I automatically get the role just because I'm America's Chad Dylan Cooper? Well…I do…but not all the time!

"And it wasn't always like this, dad. I had to work hard to be what I am today! All those cool stuff and everything, I had to work hard for. Oh, and not to mention the paparazzi. The tabloids, the rumours…you think it's easy pretending they don't exist, or ignoring some of the comments that aren't true? You think it's easy facing them every day? No! But this is the price for show business. And I _work hard_ to get through it every day. Summer is the one time where I can escape it and just be a normal person. Where I can just relax and do teenage guy stuff.

"And you took that from me." I gave him one final glare, put my coffee down, and stalked out of the office, trying to ignore that shocked and angry expression on his face.

- OOO –

**SPOV:**

"Great job, Bianca," I called out to the pool, giving her a smile. "And Michael. Great job everyone!"

My class had finally given me the respect I wanted with no bribes or threats involved. I was sitting on the edge of the pool, with only my legs in the water, and just relaxing.

Uncle James was nice enough to not fire me yesterday, even though I still feel incredibly guilty, but we had agreed on a punishment together. There was a wedding tomorrow, and they were short on waiters and waitresses. I had agreed to take the job of one, but receiving no extra pay for it, since it was a punishment. Alex had been offered to take the extra job too, and in return, Uncle James would cut her assistant job short; only serving Chelsea for three days now, instead of seven. She gladly accepted, of course, since she'll do anything to get away from Chelsea-even if we had to cut our weekend off short. Once a month, there would be a weekend given to the employees of James Inn that would be a no-work weekend. We could all visit our families for the weekend, or choose to stay at the hotel as a guest. But since most of us aren't willing to pay, we usually all just go home.

I couldn't wait to see my family again. Even though I've seen them all year round, and this is just about two or three weeks into the summer, I really missed them. Especially my dad-who I can't wait to tell about all of my adventures here. I was still deciding whether or not I should tell him about yesterday's incident, and decided I would. Unless he already knew about it from Uncle James. Nevertheless, I'll tell him anyways just to assure him he can trust me.

I glanced at the clock, and felt relieved to know I only had twenty more minutes of work left. Just as I was feeling happy and relieved that Chad hadn't bothered me once today, I saw the egomaniac himself stroll through the pool gates, making his way towards me.

He flashed a brilliant grin at me and I rolled my eyes. I was still a little mad at him for ratting us out.

"Hey, hey, Son-son," he greeted, crouching down next to me. "What up?"

I turned away from him and watched the children instead.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, taking in the obedient kids in my class, "How much did you pay 'em? They're _actually_ swimming!"

I gave him a sly grin. "Jealous?"

"Of what?"

"That they can swim and you can't?"

He frowned and glared at me. "I'll have you know, _I_ am the head lifeguard of this pool, Sonny. Of course I know how to swim."

"Yeah, in the shallow end. That's not going to help anyone who's drowning in the deep end." I laughed at his sulking expression, before realizing his other comment about head lifeguard. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped open, staring agape at his now cocky face. "You're _what_? Who'd be stupid enough to give you a job like that?"

"My father."

Oops. "B-But…you can't even swim!"

Chad smirked at my spluttered expression. "Don't have to. All that rescuing stuff? I'll leave it to you and Dean. I'm just here 'cause Ross said my dad said I could learn something from you. And also to boss you around."

I groaned. "So…you're going to be here…_everyday_?"

"Yup." Chad smiled triumphantly at me, and proudly held his chin up, "The best part is, I don't have to come up with an excuse to be here because I'm _supposed_ to be here. Isn't that great?"

"Terrific."

His smile instantly dropped then and he turned serious. "What are you doing there, just chatting around? Get to work, Ms. Munroe. Now! Now! Now!"

I rolled my eyes, but turned back to the kids anyway. "Alright, guys. Let's do two laps of front crawl now. Ready? Go!" I blew my whistle to signal the start, and the kids thrust of the walls of the pool and started to glide in the water, doing the stroke I asked them to.

Twenty minutes later, the kids were out of the pool, drying themselves with their towels, and Chad again was nowhere to be seen. I quickly rushed into the dressing room to change before he suddenly appeared, because he sure will.

Before leaving the dressing rooms, I unlocked the door, leaving it slightly open, so I could peek out of it to check if Chad was outside or not. When the coast seemed to be clear, I tiptoed silently and ran to the exit, even though I was breaking my own rule as I ran on the deck.

Just when I thought I was free of Chad, and ready to exit, he appeared right in front of me with that annoying smile on his face. I yelped in surprise and huffed at him. "Chad!"

"'Sup?" He said, nodding his head at me. I rolled my eyes again.

"Were you hiding in front of the exit to purposely scare me?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.

He scoffed. "No, scaring people is something five year olds do. You know, like you and your…'_funny_' friends." He put air quotes on the word, "funny", making me roll my eyes again, before pushing him aside to get through.

"I was waiting for you," he called out, knowing full well it would make me stop and come back to him. He smirked in approval as I did, like finally listening to something he said made him proud. "Can I explain why I did what I did, please?"

"I already know why," I replied, using my best icy voice I could manage. "And it was a selfish reason too."

Chad sighed and propped against the railing of the gate, putting one foot up on the wire, while crossing his arms over his chest, making him look like those models in shopping bags wearing this month's latest clothes. His hair was parted perfectly today, and the sun highlighted it in the most natural and flawless way. A pair of sunglasses was perched on his head, completing the whole "summer model" look.

He sneered arrogantly when he caught me staring; his bright blue eyes smiling with laughter. I flushed and looked away, before turning back to glower at him again. "What?"

"Nothing," Chad answered; the stupid grin still on his face, "I just like the way you look at me."

As if I needed another reason to blush. "I-I don't look at-" I coughed, before regaining my composure, and speaking in a much deeper voice, "I don't look at you." I narrowed my eyes even more to tell him I'm being serious.

Chad chuckled, and moved towards me. "You just did."

"I did not!" But I was still glaring at him when I did, so I turned my back to him just to prove it. I heard him chuckle again behind me. Then he sobered, exhaling loudly.

"Okay, Sonny, I know you're mad." I snorted, since "mad" was putting it nicely, and he seemed to realize this, because he continued, "Angry. Furious. Outraged. _Livid_…I'm running out of words."

I let out a tiny chortle, but didn't say anything.

"I'm…" I heard him swallow, "…_sorry_." Was it really _that_ hard to say? I think I heard him choke afterwards from saying it. Stupid Chad.

He wasn't finished. "I know it was really selfish of me to put my own happiness first. I'm sorry, Sonny." I heard ruffling, and then he was in front of me, holding two tickets in his hand, passing me one of them. "This is my way of saying sorry, and making it up to you. There's a concert playing near here, and we could-"

"Chad," I interrupted, holding up one hand, "This is the same time as the wedding reception tomorrow. Unless you _really _want to get me fired, I can't go."

Chad frowned; the displeasure clear on his face. "Well, who said I was going to ask you?"

I raised my eyebrows and he sighed.

"Fine. You're right." He grabbed the ticket from my hand and stuffed it in his pocket. Chad started to walk away, before he stopped at the last minute to cock his head back towards me. "But am I forgiven?"

I laughed and nodded reluctantly. "Yes-"

"Yes!" Chad pumped his fist in the air excitedly and gave me an excited grin, making me laugh again.

"_But_," I added, "I'm not trusting you ever again."

He shrugged. "I was expecting that. Whatever. As long as I'm forgiven." He beamed at me, clicked his tongue, and winked, before walking off. "Catch you later, Sonny!"

I realized, if I did get fired from this job, it wouldn't seem so bad. This job would only last until the end of summer, and I'd have to wait all year again for next summer. But I have Chad all year-round.

Walking back to my dorm, I started giggling to myself at the thought of having him constantly bothering me at work. Now, it doesn't seem that bad anymore. And the thought suddenly seemed almost appealing to me. Or inviting. Both, I guess.

Because no matter what, no matter where I go, no matter who I'm with, I'll always have Chad. Constantly beside me. And bothering me.

* * *

_A/N: I hated all the drama between Chad and his dad. But I needed something for him to be upset about because…well, you'll see. And plus I have been watching dramas over the summer, so maybe I'm in the mood. I didn't expect to write it at all, because it's not usually my style, but it just came flowing onto the page. And what the hey, I'll make him a little OOC there. _

_Of course, right after, I had to make a nice Channy moment to even it out. Oh, and see what a good liar Chad is? You can't even tell he was mad about something. _

_There's still going to be more drama between him and his father (but not too much, because I hate it when it goes against the whole happy Sonny/Chad vibe, and gets all OOC and dramatic) but there's also going to be a father/son moment, but I plan to make into a Channy moment afterwards, like I did with this one. Kay, I'm spoiling too much. _

_Have a great day, and review pleaassee!_


	16. The Fat Rich Lady: Part 1

_A/N: Oh, I actually realize why I've been so late lately (well one of the other reasons). Another reason is that Channy isn't as cute as they used to be IMO, so I haven't been in the mood to write about them. Lately, I've been obsessed with Seddie :D, which is Sam and Freddie from iCarly. So yeah. Wait, it has nothing to do with this story. Okay. Moving on…_

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**YummyTastyJessi**_,_ **iamkiley** _(even though she's been mentioned :D thanks for that awesome sweet review of yours!),_ **CAEH1995**, **TrishaBisha**, **S3r3ndipity**_,_** -RAWRiBITE-**_,_ **bmwgirl123**_,_ **pinaypinay**_, _  
_AND TO MY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS_, **lolz3 ()**_ (lool, yeah, i guess it does seem that way. maybe cus shes nicer loooools its pretty hard NOT to get irritated with Chad. Lol, thanks again!)_,** fnsdjf ()** _(keep reading, and you'll find out. lols)_,

_And anyone else. Thanks so much you guys! Hope this looooooong chapter makes some-what up for the looooooooong update? :d_

_Disclaimer: Is there a need for this anymore? NO. I DO NOT OWN IT. _

_-**Warning**- Some contents may be offensive to some readers. Please do not take it personally. I am writing on behalf of my characters and how they would feel. I have no issues with people who are overweight. If you are easily offended, I suggest you stop reading now.

* * *

_

15. The Fat Rich Lady

(Part 1)

**SPOV:**

One of the strangest things about humans is that they feel the need to eavesdrop if they hear people having a conversation-even if they know it's not right. And then if someone asks them about it, they say it was an accident. How could it be an accident if you deliberately _try_ and listen to what people are saying?

Anyways, even if it was so totally cliché of me, I did eavesdrop on someone's conversation. But it was an accident! I was on my way to the Party Room that has been turned into a restaurant for the reception, when I heard someone yelling behind the gate of the pool. And I wouldn't have really cared if the person hadn't said my name in the sentence. So I…"overheard" them talking by "accident". But really, what person wouldn't care about a conversation that has their name in it? So, naturally, I hid behind the gate and pressed my ear to it to listen to their conversation more.

"Bianca, you _idiot_!" Chelsea. Well, this was weird. Why would she scream at Bianca? And is this the Bianca I knew? So how does _she _know Bianca? "You were supposed to make sure they don't ever get together. But what do you do? NOTHING."

"I didn't do 'nothing'!" Bianca protested, and I knew her voice anywhere, so this was definitely the Bianca I knew. "I was swimming!"

"Which is more important? Stupid swimming class or my relationship with Chad?" Chelsea whined. "If he goes there every day now, think of all the advantages Sonny could have! She could be kissing him in between her breaks for all we know!" Ew. Like I'd ever kiss Chad.

"I. _Don't_. Care." Bianca enunciated the word "don't", making Chelsea grunt in frustration. "_You_ like him, not me."

"And as family, we have to help each other out," Chelsea sneered, "What good is having a bratty little sister like you if you don't do anything." So that was how they knew each other. Actually, I'm not that surprised, their whole family has the same characteristics.

"What good is having an older sister like you if all you do is expect _me_ to do stuff? Why don't you ever take care of it yourself? If you like Chad, then just spend more time with him."

"Gee, that's a little hard when I'm all the way in the main entrance, when they're all the way over here. Probably making out and cuddling and-"

Bianca let out a sound that sounded like a barf, and I completely agree with her. Me? Kissing _Chad_? Ugh. Gross. "That will never happen. Sonny hates Chad."

"Right. What girl in their right mind would ever hate Chad Dylan Cooper?"

"Sonny."

"Shut up, Bianca. It was a rhetorical question." I pictured Chelsea rolling her eyes after this. "You're such an idiot." I heard a pause, and then Chelsea saying, "Why are you taking _her_ side?"

"Because she's nice," Bianca stated, "She's always been nice. And she saved my life."

"Oh, please. That's just her job. You think she would've cared to save you if she was off duty?" Chelsea didn't wait for Bianca to answer. "Of course not. She wouldn't care less about a bratty little devil like you." I risked a peek inside the pool, and I saw them standing on the deck; Bianca with her head hung low, and Chelsea with her arms crossed, fuming.

"You weren't even supposed to drown, remember?" Chelsea said, "You were supposed to get her _fired_. Oh, and look! She's still here! Even when she got _herself_ in trouble, she _still_ didn't get fired!"

Bianca looked up now, and she glared at her sister with a look of defiance. "Maybe it's because, unlike you, she deserves this job."

There was a steel cold silence that frightened me, because, seeing Chelsea's expression right now, I didn't want to be Bianca. But Bianca didn't look like she was cowering over the glare either, and she didn't look like she was ready to back down.

Finally Chelsea spoke. "Traitor." With that, Chelsea sauntered to the dressing room without another look or word to Bianca, who was left staring after her with a look of disgust on her tiny, little face.

I walked slowly towards the pool, hoping to comfort Bianca and say it wasn't her fault she had such a nasty sister, and that she wasn't a brat at all. But as soon as I stepped inside, the dressing room door flew open, and there was Chelsea. I quickly ran out of the pool area, and ran the rest of the way towards the Party Room. I guess Bianca will have to wait.

- OOO –

"I hate this uniform," Alex moaned, looking at her outfit with the utmost loathing. "It's just like him to make us wear these uniforms."

"Just like who?" I asked, wondering if she was talking about Mr. Cooper.

"Chad," Alex snarled, as if she was gargling his name in her mouth. When she saw my expression, she rolled her eyes. "He was in charge in getting us fitted for the right uniforms, but of course, just like the pig of a guy he is, he had to come up with something this crude and vile, and get me a uniform that barely reaches my stomach!" She sulked with even more repulsion on her face when she held up her skirt. "I mean, look how short this thing is! I _refuse_ to wear it."

"You have to, unless you want to get fi-"

"Don't say it," she warned, giving me an icy stare, "Look, this is just too inappropriate. And I feel so violated wearing this. Chad is such a pig."

I laughed, and looked at my own waitress uniform. They couldn't find a uniform for me that was my size, so I had to wear a larger size uniform. So instead of it being too small, mine was too big. "I thought you liked looking all attractive, and showing off your body."

"Yeah, when _I_ want to show it off-not when some obnoxious, corrupted, vulgar, dim-witted, thick, numbskull _forces_ me to wear it!" I forget sometimes how much Alex hates being told what to do. She likes to be in charge of her own person. "Do you know how many people are going to be gawking at me out there?"

"None," a voice answered from behind me. I swiveled around to see Chad making a face at Alex. Since he was also working here tonight, he was wearing the male waiter uniform for tonight's reception, but that wasn't the reason I couldn't stop staring. Chad's usual straight blond hair, was now puffed up and curly-not to mention, _red. _"Who'd want to look at _you_?"

Alex glared at him. "Well this uniform is going to make them want to-"

"Barf?" He smirked, "Don't flatter yourself, Beasty. The only reason I put you in that thing is because that outfit is so hot, it'll draw attention from your unflattering figure and hideous…well…whatever that thing is growing out of your neck where your face is supposed to be."

"Ha! Hilarious," Alex remarked sarcastically, "Are you sure you're on the right show? Because with that poofy mane on your head, I'm sure you can find a better character to play, like Elmo on the next Sesame Street." I let out a chortle and Chad glared at me before giving Alex a whimper. "Dude, what's with your hair?"

He made a face and touched his hair cautiously, like he was afraid it might blow up. "It wasn't my fault!" he cried, having another one of his histrionic Chad spaz-attacks. "That stupid new shampoo I was supposed to try out for a stupid new commercial apparently had some 'technical difficulties' to them. They did a recall after _this-_" Chad pointed aggravatingly to his hair, "-happened. Well, a little late for that now, is it?" He walked to the mirror in one of the change rooms and stared at himself with dismay. "I'm America's _Chad Dylan Cooper_! This is _not_ supposed to happen to me!"

Alex and I gave each other questioning looks before bursting out with laughter.

Chad whipped around at the sound of our laughter, taking us in with eyes burning with anger, looking as livid as ever.

"What?" Alex lifted one shoulder with carelessness. "If I have to wear this ridiculous thing tonight, so do you."

"But I can't go out with my hair like this!" He protested.

"Oh, I was talking about your face, but hey," Alex smiled, "if you can go out with a face like that every day, you can go out with hair like it too."

Chad narrowed his eyes at her. "You're lucky I can't fire people." Alex rolled her eyes, and Chad added, "Oh and by the way, Ms. Know-it-all, Sesame Street isn't even on anymore!"

Alex gave him a sly smile. "And how would you know that?"

"Well…I-I…uh…" Chad spluttered, his face growing red as he realized his mistake.

"You know, I am enjoying this," I broke in, still calming down from the laugh, "Oh and Chad, look over here and smile for me please."

"Why?" He asked, turning towards me smiling, just as I clicked my camera at him. His smile instantly dropped, and he registered a look of utter mortification as he realized what I just did. "Don't you dare, Sonny Munroe!"

I held my camera behind my back and gave him a smug smile, teasingly sticking my tongue at him. "Oh, well, I think I dare."

Chad tried to grab it from me, but I quickly tossed it over to Alex, who caught it easily and ran around the counter where he couldn't grab it. Chad turned to Alex and started chasing her around the counter, but Alex tossed it back to me. Chad turned back to me, and I tossed it to Alex. Alex to me. Me to Alex.

Somewhere in the middle of our monkey-in-the-middle game, the door opened. But none of us realized it, since we were too busy. That is, until, we heard his irate voice at the doorway, booming boisterously in the room. "What is going on in here?"

The three of us stopped playing to cover our ears, and looked up sheepishly at Uncle James. Alex hid the camera behind her back and expertly threw it to me. "Whoa," I muttered, almost dropping it. Uncle James furrowed his brows, and eyed me as I slipped it in my bag.

"Sonny," he took a deep breath to calm himself, "What-" Uncle James paused when he saw Chad's hair. It seemed like he really wanted to strangle Chad right now. "In the name of all that is good, what the hell is with your hair, boy?"

Chad whistled and touched his hair cautiously. "I…uh…" At that moment, Chelsea burst through the door in her waitress outfit-which fit _her_ perfectly, I might add-and took one look at the scene, and instantly clamped her mouth shut to whatever she was about to say. "-wanted to look like Chelsea, so I dyed my hair," Chad finished, giving his father a proud smile, before winking at Chelsea, "Hey, Chels. Now we match!" He pointed to his hair, and Chelsea gave him an awkward smile, before dropping it instantly when Uncle James glared at her.

"We'll talk about this later," he warned, before grabbing some kind of cloth from the cupboard and throwing it at him. "We can't let the guests see you like this. You'll be working as the chef. You are not to leave this room for anything as long as the ceremony is still going on, and as long as that fur is on your face. Are we clear?"

Chad nodded, a pleasant smile on his face, "Yes sir." But he turned away to roll his eyes, and made a face that only I caught.

"And for the rest of you," Uncle James continued, eyeing Alex and I especially, "This is a very big and important client. You screw it up; there goes the hotel business. No. Fooling. Around."

"Yes sir," we all said in agreement. Uncle James stalked out of the kitchen/change room, leaving what I think was a trail of smoke behind him from all of his rage. So far, the only thing I'm good for in this job is causing trouble.

I sighed and tied on my apron, but turned around when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I saw Chad regarding me with a hesitant expression on his face. "So…wattaya gonna do with that camera?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him and feigned interest in this topic with a huge smile. "I'm going to take pictures with it like I do with all the other cameras." Rolling my eyes, I scooted past him to grab my pencil and notepad.

He came up behind me again and whispered near my ear. "But Sonny…" he whined, "If my fans see me like this, I'll lose my rep."

I laughed. "Chad, listen to me." I spun around to face him and stared at him straight in the eye, imitating what Bianca said earlier to Chelsea. "I. _Don't_. Care." I even stressed out the word "don't" again like she did. And, like her, I got the same response Chelsea gave from Chad.

He grunted and narrowed his eyes at me. "If you show anyone that doesn't work here that picture, I will-"

"Will _what_?" I challenged, moving closer to him.

Chad blinked in surprise when I fearlessly intruded on his personal space, like he's always done to me. I guess he's sort of rubbing off on me. A month ago, I wouldn't have thought about doing this to him, let alone have the guts to actually do it. But he quickly regained his composure and bent closer to me as well, making me take a step back.

His lips curved into a wicked and challenging grin as he used both of his arms to create a barrier around me; placing each of them on the counter beside me so I couldn't escape. "I will trap you here until you give me that camera."

"You can't trap me here," I told him, "You couldn't even trap that mouse in the prop house when you came back to make sure it was gone."

"That's because that mouse was just gross and furry and…" He paused and shuddered, moving away a bit to ponder in his unpleasant memory.

"You mean like you?" I blinked innocently and he placed his forehead against mine.

He was giving me a deadly stare as he gritted his teeth together; almost snarling at me. I think he's watched too many vampire movies, and is trying a _little_ too hard to be a certain eight-packed werewolf…

"You don't scare me." I let out a laugh as I realized how that comment closely resembled a certain human girl with a vampire boyfriend, and I realized that maybe I've been watching too many vampire movies as well.

He gave me a strange look but quickly disregarded it and went back to his glower. "Give. Me. The. Camera."

I matched his fierce look with my own look of defiance and told him boldly, "Make me."

Before he could respond, I ducked under his embrace and grabbed my bag with the camera in it before running out the door of the kitchen. I heard him run behind me and so I quickly shot towards the girl's bathroom, and shut the door at his flabbergasted expression, laughing as I did.

Thankfully, no one was in the bathroom at that time, so I ducked into one of the stalls and climbed up the toilet seat so I could reach the ceiling. I pushed one of the tiles away to stash my bag up there, before balancing it back into place and walking calmly out of the bathroom.

As I expected, Chad was waiting there for me; his chef hat perched on his head. But when he saw me bag-less, he gave me a worried expression and looked past my shoulder to see where the bag was. "Where did you put it?"

"In the washroom," I answered plainly.

Chad rolled his eyes and gave me an exasperated look. "_Where_ in the washroom?"

I gave him a smug expression and patted him lightly on the shoulder, saying, "That's for me to know, and you to find out," before heading off to the kitchen.

He trailed behind me, calling out my name, but I ignored him all the way back. I grabbed my notepad and pencil and told him I was going out to do my job, and that he should too. He huffed in frustration, but immediately got to work when he saw how many slips of paper with orders were already on the wheel.

"Have fun, Chad," I sang happily, pushing the exit door.

He cursed at me and gave me a look of pure hatred before shouting out, "Curse you, Sonny Munroe! I'll get you next time."

- OOO –

The fat rich lady gave me a look of annoyance when I couldn't write down her order fast enough, making her have to repeat what she said again. She and her husband were probably the grumpiest couple I've ever seen in a wedding. I mean, isn't the parents of the bride supposed to be happy that day?

"Will you hurry up? How many times do I have to repeat it for you to get it right?" The lady snapped at me. I wanted to hit her, but I guess that wouldn't be good for our image. Geez. I only asked her _once_ to repeat it, and it was because she doesn't talk properly. When she talks, she doesn't pronounce each word clearly. It's like she's rushing to say them all in less than one second, so it sounds more like gargle.

Really, that sentence would actually be like, "Willyouhurryup? ?"

"Sorry, ma'am," I apologized, and then giving her my best charming (and genuine) smile I could manage, "Would you like anything else?"

"Yes," she answered haughtily, "my food."

I took a deep breath, and kept my fake smile intact. "I'll get right on that, ma'am."

She rolled her eyes as I took her menu-well, actually, I grabbed it from her, but she didn't seem to notice my anger, so it was alright-and tramped back to the kitchen. I slammed the door open, and everyone in the kitchen stared at me with a shocked expression. Chad just gave me an amused smile.

"Having fun, Sonny?" he sneered. I glared at him, and slapped the slip of paper with the fat lady's order on his mouth to cover his taunting lips.

"Hurry up with this order unless you want to get beaten," I told him, and added in my mind silently, _or should I say, eaten. The size of that lady…_I shuddered at the thought of that chunky hippo getting mad.

He took the slip of paper and Chad's mouth dropped. "Holy sh-"

"-shrimp," I finished, "Yes, you need shrimp."

"I need a bigger kitchen too to _make_ all of these orders." Chad groaned and stared at the lady with disgust. "Sonny, did she order the whole menu?"

"That, and probably twelve other restaurants' menus," I replied bitterly. "Just get to work. I'll try my best to stall her from throwing a fit."

Chelsea came in at that moment, sighing, as she brought an empty platter to Chad. "Here's table one, two, and three's orders." She handed him the slip of papers, and Chad looked like he was about to faint.

"Where are all the other chefs we hired?" I asked him. "Shouldn't they be helping you too?"

"They are." He opened a door beside me, revealing another room-much bigger than the one we're in-full of chefs working away to the orders. "But even with their help, there's no way I could get that lady's orders finished in time."

"I'll help you, Chad!" Chelsea started jumping up and down excitedly, and Chad grimaced slightly, making me giggle. Chelsea blinked, and then glared at me, as if realizing just now that I was there all along.

"Shouldn't you be _working_, Sonny?" she snapped, her green eyes sparkling with resent.

_Shouldn't _you? I wanted to say, _Instead of coming here every ten seconds to flirt with Chad?_

I smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, thanks for reminding me, Chelsea. You're so good at remembering things. Like that party you threw. I'm sure you remembered how much fun I had?" And just to piss her off, I added deviously, "With _Chad_?"

Chelsea's eyes widened, all color draining from her face. Chad was also staring at me in shock; dropping his spatula he was holding in the process. "You swore you would never talk about that again!" Chad cried, pointing a finger accusingly at me.

Chelsea flipped on him and lost it. "You remember what happened?"

"I-"

"Did you kiss her on purpose?"

Chad's eyes widened and he had that look of panic he always had when he was being pressured. "What?"

"Did you?" Chelsea pounced on him; grabbing his collar, making Chad panic even more. She didn't wait for his answer, though. Instead, she screeched and whirled around to face me. "You are going to regret ever coming here, Sonny. I'll make sure to that."

I gave her a sweet smile. "Looking forward to it, Chels."

She gave me one last "Arrggh!" before storming out of the kitchen, just as Alex and Dean started to come in. They stared after Chelsea with confused expressions on their faces but quickly shrugged it off.

"Did the witch wake up on the wrong side of the broomstick today?" Dean asked, making Alex giggle and chortle wildly. I gave her a strange look, and she abruptly stopped. Dean just smiled at her with a look of amusement before raising his eyebrows at me. "What happened?"

"Long story," I said quickly, not wanting to go into the whole detail about the kiss and everything again. "We need your help."

"Well, we're kind of _working_," Alex said, giving me another slip of paper, "You know, taking orders and stuff. 'Cause we're waiters, and that's what waiters do." She eyed me and Chad suspiciously, and crossed her arms. "Not sit around and talk."

"I was just giving him my customer's order," I told her, nudging Chad's stomach with my elbow.

He let out a yelp and quickly agreed with me. "Yeah. That's what she was doing. I mean, what else could she be doing? Telling secrets and breaking promises to people-ow!" I elbowed him again to shut him up.

"Anyways," I continued, talking to Alex and Dean, "You know that fat lady? The mother of the bride?"

"You mean, mother_s_?" Dean joked, and started laughing until Alex slapped him on the arm. He sobered and turned serious. "Yes. What about her?"

I laughed and showed him her order list. They both made a face before giving me back the order list. Dean whistled. "That is one big dinner."

"Actually, I think it's just her snack for now," Chad commented, making me slap him too.

"We need you to find more chefs-look them up in the phone book or something, Dean." He nodded and scurried off to find the phone book. "Alex, I need you to take orders for my table too."

"_What_?"

I gave her a pleading look. "Please? I know I'm going to need all of my energy and strength to give the lady all of my undivided attention." She grumbled but stalked off to take my tables anyway. "Thank you!" I called after her.

"Chad, get to work, _quickly_," I instructed him. He rolled his eyes and started imitating me before I whacked him behind the ear. "Stop it."

He cowered behind the counter, but started chopping up the vegetables furiously.

I smiled in satisfaction and put my hands to my hips. "Alright, team. Let's do this!" Pumping my fist in the air, I strided to the lady's table with determination.

- OOO –

I stood frozen in awe as I watched her finish all of the first ten meals we laid out for her in less than five minutes. Chad was in the kitchen cooking up the meals as fast as he can, but it was like the two of them were having a race, with the lady _waay _in the lead. Alex and Dean were even helping him out now, since there was no way he would keep up in time with her. The other chefs were doing their best in cooking meals for the rest of the guests, but they needed Chad's help, and since he was busy with the one very important guest, we were sort of late on orders.

The chefs Alex and Dean hired have yet to show up yet because of traffic, and Chelsea was nowhere to be found. That part I blame myself since I was the one who angered her enough to make her run away.

"How many more meals do you have to cook?" He gave me an exhausted, weary, glower and I bit my lip. "…for her. Not for the…rest of the guests…" I grimaced at how much more work he had to do before we could rest.

"Three," Chad answered, as he chopped up a carrot stick before dumping it in the soup. "I've got two of them already started, but the third one can't be started without the shrimp."

"Well, get the shrimp," I stated simply.

Chad glared at me again. "I would if I had some, smart one," he shot back. "We're out of shrimp."

"Didn't I tell you we were going to need it in the beginning?"

"Well, in the beginning, we had some. But then we ran out, cooking for our guests." Chad had taken off his chef's hat, saying it was a bother to wear. He had also taken off his chef uniform, wearing only an apron on top of his shirt-which was halfway undone. He was sweating as he furiously chopped up the vegetables, and I understood now why Uncle James wanted so much for him to work here. He was actually good at everything he did here.

I grabbed a towel and draped it over his shoulder. He didn't look up, but he took the towel with his free hand. "Thanks," he muttered, dabbing it over his forehead.

"Where can we get some more shrimp?" I asked him.

"At the grocery store-but it's like ten miles away from here, and we can't take the car because of the traffic jam."

"So what are we going to do?"

Chad shrugged, dumping all of the vegetables into the soup. "Ask her if she wants something else, I guess, because we ran out of ingredients."

I was actually quite impressed at how hard he worked for his dad. I never thought he would actually be this good, and that hard-working-for someone who didn't want to be here in the first place. "If the lady is as big and important as you say she is," I started, glancing at Chad, "Why would you care so much if this thing doesn't work out?"

He stopped stirring the soup long enough to give me a confused stare. "What do you mean?"

"If this thing blows up, wouldn't it be the perfect way to put your dad out of business?" I clarified, "Why are you working so hard then to _keep_ him in business instead of out of business?"

A look of understanding washed over his face, and he quickly returned to the meal he was cooking. I think he suddenly got embarrassed at something because he shifted awkwardly as he cooked. "Pass me that bowl on the counter," he muttered, totally ignoring my question.

I grabbed the bowl, and Chad poured the soup into it, before placing it on the tray, where all the other food was. He handed me the tray and motioned for me to go outside, but just as I was at the door, he stopped me.

"My dad would definitely not be able to handle it if this lady were to get upset, right?" he called out, making me swivel around to him.

"Yeah, so why-"

I stopped talking when he gave me a knowing grin, and then pushed the door to the chefs open. "I'm going to talk to the chefs about shrimp."

I don't understand him. He acted like he really hates this job one minute, and then the next look like he was running for employee of the month. I remembered he always wanted what's best for the business, like the time Bianca's mother yelled at me and Chad got her to calm down and even scolded me for not keeping the guests happy. And another time when Chad stopped me in time from spilling a false rumour about Mr. Holman to that hotel critic guy. Yet at the same time, he was the one who wanted to be part of the prank, just so he could rat himself out and get fired. I didn't understand why he'd have two different personalities about it.

Looking at the wedding reception now; the bride and groom dancing on the chandelier-lit dance floor, and their rich bit-time parents sitting on the large bronze-polished table on the side, sipping the finest wine we could fine (and the biggest meal for one person), the answer came to me. I've seen Uncle James work his butt off for this hotel. There is nothing he can't handle. But Chad's last comment about him made me realize he's not perfect. Even the mighty can fall-including Uncle James. And who knows how to get him to his feet better than family?

Chad knows what his dad can handle, and what he can't. That prank with the nerds was no big deal for Uncle James. Chad knew that his dad would be able to handle it, so he did the prank, and got himself in trouble. I had called him selfish because of it, but I realized he knew what he was getting his dad into, and it's nothing he can't handle. But Bianca's mom-who seemed to mean business-the critic, and now the lady, if we mess up with them, it'd be way more than Uncle James can take. And Chad knows that.

That's why he didn't want to pull any pranks tonight and instead works even harder than usual to make sure everything goes right. I think he cares more for people than he lets people on. That prank that he did with us? I made the mistake of calling him "selfish". The right word would be "considerate" because, in Chad's own weird way, I guess that's how he shows his father he cares.

"Sonny!" I whipped around to find an irritated looking Chad behind me. "What are you doing just standing there? Give her the food!"

I looked down on the platter of food in my hands and immediately came to my senses. I guess I was too caught up in my own thoughts that I forgot about the lady. "Sorry!" I dashed across the dance floor all the way to the other side, where the family of the couple were.

"Here are your meals, ma'am," I said politely, giving her both meals and laying them down in front of her.

The lady snorted. "About time. You guys have terrible service here." I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just gave her an apologetic bow and nod. She eyed me curiously. "What? Do you expect me to tip you after that lousy service you gave me? I wonder why you're even hired."

My smile became tight on my lips, and I had to restrain from it dropping into a snarl. "Enjoy your meal," I forced myself to say, through clenched teeth. She waved me off with her hand and I stalked angrily back to the kitchen.

Chad was waiting there for me, shaking his head in disapproval. "She got upset didn't she?" he asked smugly, taking in my expression.

I scowled at him. "Shouldn't you be _working_?"

"Same to you, Sonny," a snot-filled voice answered behind me. I groaned inside my head, since I really thought she was gone for good. "I left half an hour ago to find you not working, and then come back half an hour later…_still_ not working!"

I glared at Chelsea. "Well, you're not exactly a shoe-in for employee of the month either, Chelsea. Where have you been these past thirty minutes?"

"Working," she replied smugly, "I'm working as a waitress in the VIP area, because well, I'm experienced enough to work there. Mr. Cooper trusts _me_ more." I restrained from rolling my eyes and ignored her. Instead, I turned to Chad, who was watching this whole exchange with some kind of pleasure clear in his eyes.

He quickly frowned though when I narrowed my eyes at him. "We're out of shrimp."

"You said that already."

"Well, did you ask the lady if she wanted a different meal instead." Chad was imitating my melancholic tone of voice and I was getting very annoyed with him.

"No, I was too busy smiling and being a good waitress," I deadpanned, "Besides, she wouldn't have agreed anyways."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's because you are nowhere near a 'good waitress'. You just have to know how to charm her-"

"I'll do it!" Chelsea cried out suddenly, coming in between me and Chad to face Chad with a huge smile on her face. "Trust me, Chad. I'll convince her to change meals. I'm a _much_ better waitress than _that _thing over there." She puckered her nose in my direction and I released a frustrated sigh.

Chad smirked at me before giving Chelsea an amused smile. "I'm sure you are. It's not that hard to be better than her."

I scowled at him again. "Well, _somebody_ should go and ask her! Like, now, please?" Chad chuckled while Chelsea flaunted to the door to "use some of her charm" I guess on the lady.

"If it doesn't work," Chelsea added, bringing out a pack of money from her pocket, "I'll bribe her."

I doubt she would agree to that. She looked like the type of person who knew what she wanted, and expected to get it-no matter what. Besides, if they were rich enough to afford this place, why would she need more money? But I didn't tell Chad that. If he thought Chelsea was the better worker, well, I'm counting the seconds when she'll come back here with a glum expression, making me say in her stupid Chelsea-face, "I told you so!"

Stupid Chad. Always making me feel like everyone else can do everything so much better than me. Chad was peering out the door of the kitchen, watching Chelsea use her ugly charm on the lady. I'll show him _and_ Chelsea that I can be a very good employee.

With that one thought clear on my mind, I marched out of the kitchen, using the back door, and ran as fast as I could to the nearest grocery store.

* * *

_A/N: I'm actually very happy with this chapter. It was fun to write, and I loved Chad in this (which is lame, considering I was the one who wrote him…)_

_I wanted to show Bianca's nice side now, and why she was so mean to Sonny in the first place. Also, I wanted to show Chelsea's even _meaner_ side. So that's why I wrote that.  
I also wanted to show Alex and Chad's relationship as more of a frenemy-family-brother-and-sister relationship, instead of the love/hate relationship with Sonny. And so that's why I added that part.  
The whole Twilight relation…I have no idea why I put that. I mean, I like the series (as in the books), but the movies were…nyeh…for me. But actually, when I watched Eclipse, it wasn't so bad, and I didn't totally hate it. So with the whole Twilight phenomenon going on, I just felt like adding that part in.  
And finally, that whole "Curse you, Sonny Munroe!" thing? Lmaao…that is because I am very immature and someone who is supposed to be more grown-up and mature at my age, still watches Phineas and Ferb. Lmaao I love the show, so don't hate me, and I just wanted to put that part in because Doof is one of my two favourite characters on the show. :)_

_Anyways, you probably don't care, but I just wanted to let you know why I wrote what I did. _

_Oh and again, please don't take any of the comments towards the lady personally. I'm just writing on behalf of what the characters would say when they're angry and frustrated. Sorry if I offended anyone. :( That wasn't my goal at all. _

_So review!_


	17. The Fat Rich Lady: Part 2

_A/N: This chapter was fun to write top, but I don't think it was as fun as the first one-except for the ending-that was probably my favourite part of the whole story. I looooooveeed writing the ending :D, because well, it's Sonny's turn now. And I also like writing Sonny jealous. But the rest…woooww…talk about dramatic. Lol, I have been watching too many dramas. :P _

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**TheMisunderstoodWriter **_(ur name? story of my liifeee..:D lols),_ **jesslovesglee**, **kpj316**, **xEleshax, KeithZetterstrom, Channyallthewaybaby, kpj316, Jenny579, **  
_AND TO MY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS,_ **lolz3 ()**_ (i think you own a permanant spot here. lol, since this is the only way i can reply to your reviews :D thank you! so far, you're the only one who commented on chad and alex's banter. i love writing them twoo :D),_ **()** _(thank you! erm, well, since you mostly have predictions in your review, I can't really reply to it. lool, you'll just read on in this chapter. Some of htem were right though so great job!),_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny With a Chance…Curse you, disclaimer!

* * *

_

16. The Fat Rich Lady

(Part 2)

**CPOV:**

"You…ran all the way to the grocery store…for…_shrimp_?" I repeated, taking in her exhausted form with disbelieving eyes. Sonny was perched on a chair, panting roughly as sweat pretty much engorged her tiny self.

Her face was red and puffy, and her ponytail was all ruffled up now. Sonny held up her bag of shrimp, and I took it hesitantly, regarding it with incredulity, before passing it to Chelsea. "Get started on the meal she wanted."

I could see she was about to protest, but I cut her off simply with a look that dared her to disobey me and she clamped her mouth shut. "And get me a glass of water too, Chelsea." Her eyes flickered to Sonny with irritation, but she didn't say anything and did as I told.

I dabbed a wet towel onto Sonny's burning forehead to cool her down. She looked like she was about to pass out any minute; her chocolate brown eyes, missing its usual sparkle to them, instead replaced with a dull, dreary gaze.

She didn't even complain when I ordered her to drink the glass of water. Sonny gulped it down in less than a second. I stared at her for a second; still not really believing she actually ran ten miles to a grocery store for shrimp.

"Idiot," I muttered, as she weakly took the towel from me and started wiping her face with it. She barely had the strength to even do that without wheezing and puffing.

But as soon as I insulted her, the energy she was lacking suddenly came rushing back to her and she sat up straight with her chin held high, giving me her signature glare. "I ran all the way to that store for your family's business, and this is the appreciation I get?"

I quirked one eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest. "So _that's_ why you did it." A slow grin crept up to my face, as I understood. "That comment about being a good employee really got to you, didn't it?"

"No!" she denied quickly, "I couldn't care less. I did it because I like Uncle James, and I did it for him. Not for you."

I felt my grin grew wider out of reflex. "I never said you did it for me."

Sonny blinked, opening her mouth to respond, when Chelsea interrupted her. "Chad," she said, putting a hand on my arm, "What sauce do you want me to put on the dish?"

"The one I laid out by the sink," I answered, not bothering to look at her, or at the dish.

When Chelsea didn't move from her spot, I gave her a questioning look. "Can you show me how to do it? I'm kind of confused."

I gave her a knowing smile. "Chels, you know how to do it. When we were twelve, you won that cooking competition we had between us, using that exact recipe."

Again, her eyes seemed to travel to Sonny, who was watching our exchange with deep curiosity, and Chelsea pouted. "How come _she_ doesn't have to work?"

I glanced at Sonny and chuckled. "Do you _really_ want to put her near a stove? You do realize it's possible for a fire to erupt, right?" I felt a smack on my arm, and grinned at Sonny, expecting her to glare at me. But instead, she was narrowing her eyes at Chelsea, who was narrowing her eyes back.

"Why are you asking so many questions, Chelsea?" Sonny asked, her tone not the slightest bit friendly. "Why don't you mind your own business and get to work?"

"I'd say the same for you," Chelsea sneered. "I bet you're just faking that whole tired-after-the-run thing. Give it up. I know a fake when I see it."

"Ohh, so is that the reason you carry all those mirrors?"

"Yeah, I see my beautiful reflection, and forget all about your fake one."

"Chelsea!" I yelled, having enough of the girls' showdown, "Just leave Sonny alone, and finish the dish." Chelsea's hurt expression made me feel a pang of guilt inside, but I quickly dismissed it. Sonny was chortling as Chelsea was forced back to work, but I wheeled on Sonny as well. "And _you_. Stop laughing and go change. You stink."

Her smile instantly dropped and she gave me another glower. "Are you sure it's not you?"

I rolled my eyes before pulling her to the ground, and dragging her to the change rooms by her arm. Digging through my bag, I found an extra T-shirt of mine and tossed it to Sonny, knowing full well she doesn't have another shirt to change into. "Change."

I left the change room to find the dishes already finished. Chelsea was setting them up on the platter and I went beside her, reaching for them. "Do you want me to take it?"

"No."

"I can wear my chef's hat so they won't see my hair," I offered again.

"No."

Chelsea pushed past me with the tray and left the kitchen without another word. I bit my lip as I replayed her angry tone in my mind again. We haven't had a real, serious fight with each other since we were ten, and she broke my favourite toy in the world by sitting on it. I had broken her favourite toy to get even, and we both ended up not speaking to each other for two weeks. I guess now, she was really hurt now, even more upset about this than she was about the toy.

The door to the change rooms creaked open, and out came Sonny wearing my shirt underneath her waitress uniform and apron. She glanced around the room with a puzzled expression on her face before taking a seat behind me. "Where's Chelsea?"

"She went to deliver the tray," I replied, talking over my shoulder to her as I prepared another dish for a different guest.

"Why? That's my job," Sonny stated, "I could've done it."

I chuckled and turned around to face her. "So now you _want_ to work now that Chelsea took your job? I think you're jealous of her."

"Am not!" Sonny quickly shot up to her feet dazedly, and sat back down again when she saw my charmed expression. "I wouldn't be jealous of a wi-" Sonny paused in mid-sentence and continued with a smile, "-tty person like her. She's _so_ witty."

I raised my eyebrow while Sonny chuckled maniacally like an evil villain.

"Dean's not going to win that easily," she said, "Mwuahahahaa…"

I wrinkled my nose, shook my head, and turned back to my dish. Sometimes I think that girl has mental problems. Well, that's what you get for joining a comedy.

I chopped my some more vegetables before laying them out in a nice design. I took the frying pan and quickly cracked an egg with one hand. I heard Sonny suck in a breath behind me, and I held back a smile.

"How did you get so good at cooking?" She padded over to me and peered at my dish in admiration.

This time, I couldn't hold back the smile and it appeared on my face. "When I was ten, I was left home alone because Elise had an emergency to go to somewhere. And then she promised to get back in time for lunch, but she called to say she was stuck in traffic. I waited for hours for her to come home, but she was still stuck on the road and I was starving. So I got out her cookbook and decided to try and cook myself. The dish was horrible, by the way, but I loved the process of making it. It was just fun getting all the flour and everything on my face. I mean, isn't it every little boy's dream to be covered with the messiest and grossest thing you could find?

"Anyways, when Elise came home she was surprised at the mess-and a little irritated-but she laughed at me. In the end, she cooked me a proper lunch, and I got to help her. Ever since then, I've always helped her with meals." I tilted my head towards her and tried to look as threatening as possible. "If you ever tell anyone that secret I will make sure you and your comedy failure friends never see the light of day again."

"Why bring my friends into this?"

"Because I'm sure they're the first people you'd tell about this."

Sonny laughed. "I won't tell. I'll just use it against you sometime."

I ignored that comment and continued my story. "So anyways, my dad came home and saw me cooking dinner with Elise. He doubted my cooking skills and was reluctant in tasting my dinner. But after he did, his face lit up with amazement and surprise and he's loved my cooking ever since. I think that's the only time I could remember when I saw my dad look at me with such…pride…on his face." I lowered my voice, as I seasoned the chicken I was cooking. "I thought being a successful actor would make me see that face again, but it brought just the opposite."

Sonny didn't say anything, and I really didn't expect her to. I passed her the ready dish and she took it wordlessly, placing it on the tray. "That's for table six," I told her. She nodded and left the kitchen silently.

I started working on the next order and was just putting the finishing touches when I heard Sonny yelling outside. And then an unfamiliar voice yelling back at her. I groaned and put down my dish before dashing out of the kitchen to see what was going on. Why is this girl always causing trouble?

I found her standing in front of the fat lady with her arms crossed over her chest, staring down the lady with fearlessness. The lady was now on her feet as well, matching Sonny's look with her own. There was a tray of food on the floor next to an injured Chelsea. I ran over to them and pulled Sonny by her shoulders, turning her around to face me.

"What the heck is going on?" I demanded.

Sonny tried to break free of my hold, but I grabbed her waist and held her firmly in place. "Let…ugh…go!" She wiggled around some more, but it was no use.

"That's right, little girl," the fat lady said (although she said it very quickly it was hard to understand at first), straightening out her outfit. "Make sure to keep this one in a cage. She's a pain to deal with."

"You're a pain to look at," Sonny shot back, trying to lunge for the lady again, who took a startling step back, but when she saw I had a tight hold on Sonny, she relaxed.

"Heh…heh…" I chuckled nervously, placing my hand over Sonny's mouth. "I am _so_ sorry, ma'am. Whatever happened, I'll be sure to take care of it. She's not usually this…rowdy."

The lady rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Sonny, breathing on her face with a snarl. "Is she usually this clumsy? For the whole night, she couldn't do anything right! I was glad when that carrot-top came instead of her-" The lady nodded her head towards Chelsea, who was looking ashamed on the floor, holding her leg. "-but this one was just as bad! She spilled my tray, claiming she 'tripped'. I bet you she did this on purpose. And when I just told her what bad service this restaurant had, _this_ little devil came along yelling at me." Her fiery eyes were now on Sonny again and the lady stared at Sonny in disgust. "I bet you planned all of this. And look at your pathetic friend on the ground. Pretending to be hurt."

Sonny shook my hand away. "You are such a brat! She's not pretending. If you look up from your feast once in a while and stop eating for just a second, maybe you'll see that she actually needs help."

The lady snorted. "You all need help."

"You know, just because you're dressed like a queen, doesn't mean you have to act like one," Sonny said, "Even queens aren't this snobby. You have to learn to be grateful once in a while. You know, everyone in this restaurant worked their butt off for you tonight, and you don't even appreciate it."

"Sonny…" I warned, squeezing her arm, "Shut up. Keep the guests happy."

"Well, you didn't work hard enough," The lady said, ignoring me, "And I don't 'appreciate' cheap things. Like this hotel, for example. Whoever owns it is definitely the cheapest one of all."

I froze at her last comment, and something inside of me snapped. I gently pushed Sonny to the side and walked up to the obnoxious lady, staring at her with an icy glare. "Ma'am, if you don't want things to get ugly, I suggest you stop talking that way about my daddy right now."

"Ou, is all the staff members here crazy?" She sneered, and gave me a smug smile. "I thought you worked your butt off to keep me happy. I know I won't be happy with whatever you're about to say." She narrowed her eyes in a threatening gesture, but I didn't care anymore.

"I don't give-" I started, but was cut off by her.

"If you and your daft cohorts think I'm going to leave this hotel with a happy review to give to all of my friends-"

"You have friends?" Sonny cut in, but was immediately silenced by the lady's glower.

"-then you are quite mistaken," she finished.

"You know, that really doesn't scare me," I told her. "Sonny's right. You know, I bet you my dad is probably a thousand times richer than you'd ever be, and he's not a pain in the…butt…to be around. And he's not a big-headed snob. He worked hard for this hotel, and it's not cheap. If you don't like it, I don't understand why you're still here anyways."

Sonny came up beside me and started laughing. "I know why." She was all red in the face and laughing hysterically, and then I heard two other voices laughing along with her. I turned around to see Alex and Dean hooting and cackling along with her.

I nudged her lightly and she instantly got serious again. "Uh…I mean…" she coughed, "Yeah. If you don't like it, why are you here anyways?"

"Why don't you just leave?" I motioned to the door.

"Yeah. Why don't you just _leave_?" Sonny mimicked, imitating my movement. I chuckled at her before giving her another look. "Shut up."

"That's the best thing you've come up with all night," The lady said, smiling a wicked and cruel smile.

"What? No! What are you doing?" We all froze upon hearing that voice, and spun around slowly, meeting the perturbed face of my father. He glared at me. "Chad! You're not supposed to be out here with that hair!"

"Oh is that what that is?" The lady snorted again, "I thought it was part of his face; growing out bits of…hairy mould."

"E-Excuse me?" My dad stopped glaring at me to stare at the woman in shock.

She pushed past him and me towards the door. "You're excused. And so is your deranged, rogue, hideous-looking rascal you call your son."

My dad's eyes widened in shock, and I could see the anger boiling within him. His eyes were tight, and he was starting to get red in the face; his fists shaking with fury-the exact same way I looked when I get mad. "You-"

"That's enough!" a voice interrupted. A pretty petite girl with light brown hair came towards us with an angry look on her tiny face, dragging a dark haired man with her. The bride and groom. "Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

The fat lady looked at her daughter in shock, looking quite insulted. "Wha-Amber, darling, these people have no respect for me."

"More like the other way around," she observed with a straight face, "Mom you _promised_ you wouldn't do this!"

"Do what, sweetie?"

"Act all haughty and stuff. God, for once, just shut up and enjoy the party."

I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrows, and then turning around to see Sonny with the same expression. Neither one of us could actually believe she had the guts to say that to her mom.

"But, Amber," The lady whimpered, "I can't enjoy the party. You said it would be a really great place. What is _this_ junk?"

Amber glared at her mother. "This isn't _your_ wedding, mother. It's _mine_. And this isn't junk. This was the first place I met Bill," she placed a loving hand on her husband's shoulder, "And it is a really great place."

"But-"

"Save it, mom," Amber pushed her mother towards the door. "If you don't like it, then get out. When you get married for the fifteenth time again, then we'll have it your way."

"Fourteenth," The lady spat.

Amber rolled her eyes. "No matter how many times you get married, it's always them who end up leaving you in the end." I snorted at that, while Sonny let out a giggle before slapping her mouth shut to hold in her laughter. "Now _out_."

Amber's mother huffed at her daughter one last time before strolling out of the Party Room in a rush, causing the whole room to erupt in a joyous and relief-sounding cheer. Amber smiled apologetically to us when she finished, and shook my father's hand politely, apologizing for her mother's behaviour. My dad assured her it was no problem and apologized as well for all commotion, and Amber invited us to join the party as well and help ourselves to whatever we wanted. Amber even told us she'll make sure no word of this leaves the room, though I doubt how one hundred people can ever keep a secret like that. But at least it calmed my dad down a bit.

"You must be very proud of your son," she said, smiling at me. I waved awkwardly back to her while my dad turned to me with that same look I haven't seen since I was ten. He wrapped his arm around me and patted my back before giving my shoulder a squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm very proud of him," he answered, giving me a huge smile before mouthing the word, "Thanks" to me.

"Well, thanks again for all of this, and congratulations on such a great staff," Amber said, before rushing off to the dance floor to dance with her husband.

My dad gave me a wink, which means we'd be talking about this later (privately), before rushing off to take care of some other stuff. I was left with Sonny and Chelsea, who was still on the floor. I crouched down next to her and held up her leg gently. "You actually tripped?"

Chelsea glared at me and swatted my hand away. "You think I'm faking it? How come you believe her lousy act and not my true injured self?" I almost rolled my eyes at her overdramatic way of telling me that, but I didn't.

"I believe you, Chels," I simply stated, before picking her up princess-style and carrying her to the kitchen. I placed her on top of the counter so I could pick up her foot and inspect it easier. The door swung open and Sonny was standing there with a look of irritation on her face.

She huffed when she saw me helping Chelsea and marched to the sink to get a glass of water, before pushing it roughly in front of Chelsea's face. Chelsea puckered her nose and dismissed it. "Ew."

Sonny rolled her eyes. "Always drink water after you hurt yourself. Dunno why, but it always helps."

"I sprained my _ankle_, how does drinking water help, you idiot?"

Sonny frowned and slammed the cup on the counter before stalking to the first aid kit to find bandages, making me press my lips together to hold back a smile. She wrapped some ice in a plastic bag and placed it on top of Chelsea's sprain.

"Ow!" Chelsea cried out, grabbing her ankle, "Are you trying to paralyze me?"

"I didn't even touch you that hard!" Sonny protested. "Ice will help it get better."

"You're not a doctor," Chelsea retorted, "How would you know?"

"It's common sense," Sonny shot back, trying to place the ice on her ankle again, but Chelsea jerked her foot away and grabbed the bag of ice.

"I'll do it myself." She placed it gently on her ankle before giving Sonny a sweet smile. "You can go now."

Sonny opened her mouth to protest, but I quickly cut her off. "She's right. You have to get back to work. Or join the party like Amber said and have fun with Alex and Dean. But thanks."

I think I saw her shoulders droop slightly, but she didn't object. Sonny stared at me with no emotion for a minute before she huffed at us both and walked to the door. "Fine," she muttered, and turned back at the last minute, "Get well soon."

Chelsea and I both jumped up as the door slammed loudly behind us. I let out a soft chuckle and shook my head. Stupid girl. She has no idea how jealous she could feel until she met Chad Dylan Cooper and saw him in the arms of another woman. I laughed out loud, this time, making Chelsea eye me suspiciously.

I coughed and bit my lip to stop smiling, doing my best to appear serious. "Uh…she…idiot…" I said lamely, jerking my finger to the door.

I watch Chelsea's eyes roll and she pouted. "She is an idiot. Why do you like an idiot?"

"I don't like her!" I quickly protested, which Chelsea ignored completely.

"You don't even realize how much you like her," she added, but before I could protest again, she continued in a much softer tone, "You don't even realize how much I like you." Chelsea brought her head up slowly, staring at me with her sparkling green eyes that were full of sadness at this moment; so broken.

I pressed my lips together, not really knowing how to respond to that. She looked so weak right now-it was like she was a whole different Chelsea. Because the Chelsea I've always known never let anything get her down. And she was always this tough girl; always fighting, never giving up. But right now, she looked anything but tough. She looked like she was giving everything up, and probably feeling like she lost everything too.

I sighed and took her hands in mine. "I…realize it."

Her emerald eyes flashed and her brave old self was back, all vulnerability replaced with anger. "_And_?"

"I-" But she didn't even let me finish.

"And you don't care. You mean to tell me, you knew all this time, and you never made a move or even told me you felt the same way?" Chelsea jerked her hands out of mine and hopped down from the counter, swaying a bit as she landed. I reached out to help her but she pushed me away. "I'm fine. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I didn't know I was supposed to," I shrugged, feeling totally clueless about girls right now.

She narrowed her eyes. "It's because of her, isn't it?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Chad!" Chelsea curled her fingers into a fist and thumped her hand on my chest. Ow. That hurt. But I acted strong anyways, resisting the urge to rub the sore spot, because I'm a guy. And guys are manly. _I'm_ manly. _(A/N: Lol, Charles ;].)_ "Look, whatever you're feeling for her, it's probably fake. I've known you longer. I know you better. Chad, we _belong_ together. Don't let her get in the way of our relationship!"

"Stop it!" I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "I told you, I don't like her."

"Good. Then kiss me."

I jerked up in surprise, and backed away from Chelsea by reflex. She seemed unaffected by my response because she calmly shrugged and walked towards me. "If you don't like her, kiss me."

"I…what does _that_ prove?" Was the only reply I could come up with at this moment.

Chelsea's eyes were like a cat ready to pounce any second. They were enthralling and alluring, but at the same time held a spark of danger and mischief. She smiled-a smile that gave me chills the longer I stared at her, and it wasn't the good kind of chills. "If you don't like her, then you don't have a problem kissing other girls, right?"

"That's stupid," I told her. Seriously, what will a kiss prove?

Chelsea's eyes tightened and she stopped walking towards me. "I knew it. You like her."

"I…don't…" But even I didn't sound convinced. I swallowed and took a deep breath. "What if I don't like you either?"

"You-" Her eyes were shining dangerously now, looking as angry as ever. But she blinked and took a deep breath, and she was fine. "You just don't realize it now. When you think it over, you will."

"Will what?"

"Will realize you like me." It sounded as if she was convincing herself that as much as she was convincing me.

I was too baffled to come up with a response at this moment, but thankfully, I didn't have to. At that moment, Alex burst through the door with a perplexed look on her face, and Dean right behind her, wearing the same expression.

"Sonny's missing," Alex panted.

"What?" Then I realized I yelled that a little too loudly and lowered my voice. "How?"

"She's probably playing hide-and-seek like the five year old she is," Chelsea remarked with a snort, but even she sounded half-hearted going into that comment.

I didn't pay attention to her and just focused on Alex. "Sonny drank a lot of the wine tonight, because we told her to lighten up. She came up to me and Dean with this crazy look on her face, saying how much she wanted to punch you. So we gave her some wine, and then she couldn't stop drinking it, and she was like, being totally crazy on the dance floor-"

"And we were worried she might scare the guests," Dean interrupted, "So we told her to go home. She said she needed her bag and went to the girls' washroom-which I don't understand at all. I mean, why would she have her bag in the girls' wash-"

"_Anyways_," Alex cut in, "Me and Dean waited for her outside, but she never came. When I checked the washroom, she was gone. I'm really worried about her-I mean, going off alone at night while she's half-conscious. I tried calling her cell, but she wouldn't pick up."

"Not to mention, a lot of new guests are staying here tonight," Dean added, looking worried, "Some of the teenage guys especially like to hang outside at this time. What if they-"

But I didn't hear what he was about to say since I had already grabbed my jacket and rushed out the door, ignoring the frantic calls Chelsea was screaming out to me.

- OOO –

Sometimes I really hate Sonny. I mean, this girl just drives me crazy. First of all, she's not even funny. And she tries to be. Well, you know what? This isn't funny, Sonny. Walking all around the hotel area, in the cold night-where I can barely see-just to find you, is not funny. Oh, and will you look at that. It started raining.

_Not_ funny.

And she's making me chase her in for all I know is a wild goose chase. I've looked at every possible place with the exception of the exit, in this stinking hotel, and she's nowhere to be found.

_Where would a drunk, jealous, amateur, comedian be on a Saturday night?_

Saturday night.

I slapped my forehead with my hand, suddenly remembering that this was No-Work Weekend. Of course she'd want to go home. Sonny was too cheap to pay.

I knew Sonny had come here with her car, but she couldn't possibly be stupid enough to drive while she's not sober, could she? I quickly ran to the parking lot and sighed with relief when I saw her car. So now what? Where else would she be?

I tried imagining myself as Drunk Sonny, and tried to think on how I would get home if I was her. I decided she'd either walk all the way there-which means she could've been _really _drunk-or she'd walk to the train station and take a train home since there were no more buses at this time.

I searched my pockets for my car keys, but cursed when I remembered I didn't bring it, since I'd be staying at my house-which is close enough to the hotel that I could walk there, and figured I didn't need a car. The rain was picking up, and my jacket was getting more and more drenched. I had to find Sonny fast, so I did the only thing I could do right now and ran towards the train station, keeping my eyes out all the way, just in case she was still walking towards the station, or she got lost along the way.

"Damn it, Sonny," I cursed as another strong wind almost blew me to the road. "Why is it always you?"

And just as I finished the sentence, I arrived at the train station. I quickly ducked under the dry roof and found her sitting on a bench-actually, she was sprawled across the bench; on her stomach. She was murmuring something that I couldn't understand. Her hair was dripping wet across her face, and her clothes clung onto her body, and she didn't even care.

The stupid girl was too engrossed in staring at something on the ground. Only when I came closer did I realize it was a rock. She was smiling for some reason, and tickled the rock with her finger. I crouched in front of her, but she didn't seem to take notice of me.

"You won't…" Sonny swallowed and let out a small hiccup, making me smile, before continuing, "…ou, exc-uuu-seee me. You…You…won't…tell meee-" She jerked her thumb towards her chest, "-to…_hiccup_…eh…leaaave…will you little…Rockie?"

I snorted softly and shook my head in disbelief. This girl…

"Sonny."

She didn't even spare me a glance. Instead, she puckered her eyebrows in that cute little way I've always liked, and leaned closer to the ground. If she wasn't hanging on to the bench with one hand, I swear she would've tipped over and crashed to the ground. "Huh," Sonny stated, peering closely at the rock. "F-For…a second…there…_hiccup_…you…_hiccup_…sounded like…_gulp_…the stoopid munkey who…told me to…leaaavee…_hiccup_."

I felt my lips twitching into a smile and I leaned closer to her drunken self, smelling her putrid alcoholic breath in the process. I held my breath when I spoke next. "I'm not the one who's talking to a rock."

This time, Sonny looked up slowly and when her eyes registered it was me, she stared at me with a blank expression. I kind of expected her to shout, "Egad! It's Chad!" or something, but she didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes just calmly slid back to the ground and she let out a small puff of breath.

"Hey, Rockie," she cooed, "How did you…_hiccup_…turn into a…munk…_hiccup_…-ey…like that…?"

I rolled my eyes and tilted her chin up to look at me. "Sonny. It's me. And I'm not a monkey."

Then the girl actually had the nerve to giggle right in my face. She sat up and wobbly crouched on the ground in front of me. "Of coursey…_hiccup_…you are…!" She squeezed my nose, and I tried to swat her hand away, but she was hanging on pretty tightly. "_Look_!"

I grabbed her wrist and held it firmly. "What?"

Sonny chuckled and pointed at my nose with her free hand. "Munkey nose."

"That's it. I'm taking you back." I told her, dragging her up and planting her feet on the ground. The rain was only getting stronger, and I doubt I'll be able to take her back home without getting caught in the storm ourselves.

Sonny resisted my attempt to drag her with me and returned to her original position on the bench. "No!" she cried, "I wanna…_hiccup_…stay with…Rockie…"

"You can't stay here all night, Sonny." I tried tugging her up again, but she only held on to the bench tighter. And then her hormonal impulse kicked in and she started bawling loudly. "Oh, great. Sonny, don't cry…don't-"

But she only cried even louder, making me sigh exasperatedly. What am I going to do with her? I took the rock from her hands-it was a freaking _rock_! Of course it wouldn't tell you to leave-and held it over my head. She instantly shot up and tried grabbing the rock, but since she wasn't very stable, Sonny started to sway a bit.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and brought her to my side. "Giivee meee Rockiiieee!" she cried, the tears streaming furiously down her face.

"Only if you let me take you home," I told her. She didn't agree, but she didn't object either, so I took that as a yes. I placed the rock in her hands and she sniffled a bit, but eventually broke into a smile.

"Rockieeeeee!" Sonny hugged the rock to her chest and jumped up and down excitedly.

It was a _rock_, for God's sake.

"Yeah, yeah, you got your rock. Now let's _go._" I pulled on her sleeve, but she still wouldn't move. Turning back to her, I gave her a frustrated grunt. "What _now_?"

She wasn't looking at me though. Instead, her head was hung low, and her hands were on her stomach. "Ugh…" she moaned.

I think God is seriously testing my patience right now.

I started to back away, but it was too late. She had already emptied her contents all over my shoes. I groaned and just waited until she was done puking, since there was nothing else I could do. Finally, she finished and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Done, already?" I asked sardonically.

She flashed me her brilliant wide smile. "Yep!"

"Great." I started dragging her again, but she kept resisting.

"I don't wanna go…_hiccup_…with _you_." She made a face and shook her head firmly. I seriously felt like leaving her and just telling everyone I couldn't find her.

"Would you rather have me, or the rock?" I demanded, and then seeing her expression, I quickly added, "Don't answer that." If she wasn't going to home willingly, then I'd just have to force her to come home. I pulled on her arm again-harder this time-but she just kept resisting.

"No!" Sonny screeched, trying to tug her arm away. "Rockie and I are just fine wit-out YOU!"

"Why are you so mad at me anyways? I mean, you should know better than to drink just because you're upset. What has gotten into you?" I scolded her, getting more and more frustrated by the minute.

Sonny was still trying to break free. "You don't even ap…ap-ap…apee…apee ciayte…my _shirmp_! A-And and you pick up Chel-Chel…Chellcee like a princass…and-and u always on her side and-and…never on mine! And-and…-"

Sonny didn't finish what she was saying because I had already picked her up and started running back towards the hotel. The rain was even stronger now, and I had to stop and put her down once to drape my jacket over her. "Cover your head so you don't get sick," I told her, not really caring if she doesn't understand or not.

Then I picked her up again the way she wanted me to carry her-princess style-and jogged down the path. Sonny, for once, didn't say anything. I glanced down at her to find her staring at me with a stunned expression. I chuckled and brought her face to the crook of my neck, where she laid her head there comfortably.

Somewhere along the way, Sonny fell asleep, because I heard her loud snoring, and felt her even breathing tickling my neck.

She _so_ owes me for this. This stupid girl…

I glanced down at her and slowed my pace, since the rain was letting up. "You know," I whispered quietly, talking to her, "You are a very stupid girl."

When she didn't respond to that, confirming that she truly is asleep, I continued.

"You make me crazy too," I added, this time smiling a bit.

Sonny still didn't respond, and I got more courageous.

"You're a dimwit," I told her, "Who probably doesn't know how to do anything without causing trouble."

I chuckled as we reached the gate of the hotel. I turned towards a different pathway-the one that led to my house-and shifted Sonny in my arms to a more comfortable position.

"And you're going to have a massive headache tomorrow, I'll bet," I snorted, "But even without the headache you'd still be cranky and stubborn when I ask you about your jealousy tomorrow."

I brought my face closer to her and whispered, "You're a dummy, because you'd rather choose a rock instead of Chad Dylan Cooper." I grunted and shifted her again. "And you're pretty hefty too for such a small person," I muttered, taking a deep breath.

We were near my house now-thankfully, since my arms were killing me-and I started talking to her again. "And you're foolish enough to actually get yourself this drunk, and then proceed to get yourself lost."

Sonny took a deep breath, and then let out the loudest burp I've ever seen a girl do. I blinked and made a face before wheezing and coughing. "Ugh. Gross." She had a content smile on her face, like she'd just completed her mission in life.

I laughed and leaned in again murmuring softly, "You are an adorable idiot," before placing my lips on her head; kissing it lightly.

* * *

_A/N: Reviiew? ;) _


	18. I Didn't Say I Loved You

_A/N: Confession time! The last comment Chad says to Sonny in the last chapter was from the drama, "It started with a kiss" :d yes, another one. Lol, watch it, it's cute. But dw, the rest was mine. _

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**BurstingFlower, Lady-Apricotxx, WHADAYA THINK. CAUSE I DUNNO **_(lol, nice name :D),_ **lifeinstructions** _(yeah, but I never heard that response, and being Alex, she just wants to come up with something more original I guess),_  
_AND ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS_,** lolz3 ()** _(thanks!),_

_And anyone else. Thanks guys!  
_

_Disclaimer: _

_(The disclaimer is there. It's just invisible :D...Oh come on, you all know I don't own it.)_

_

* * *

_

17. I Didn't Say I Loved You

**SPOV:**

Ever wonder what it felt like if the plane you were on suddenly crashed, and then everyone in the plane fell onto the ground, and then you end up hitting your head on a massive rock that just happened to be there because you fell head-first? Well, I bet you my headache right now is ten times worse than that.

And a wave of vertigo hit me as soon as I tried to sit up on the bed, but I just came crashing back down again. This is why I never drink. Well, until last night.

I groaned, and stuffed my head between the pillow and tried to get that feeling to go away. I don't even remember what happened last night. And if I did try to remember, it only made my head feel worse.

"I will never drink again in my entire life," I swore to myself, moaning again as I shifted on the bed until my tummy is faced to the ceiling, when the pain came again.

"Good. Because I'm not carrying you again if you get drunk." I leaped up, startled, when I heard Chad's voice beside me. He was facing me, but his eyes were closed, as if he's still asleep.

"What…" I started, but gasped in surprise as Chad heaved a cross sigh and rolled on top of me, pinning my hands down on the bed.

"You are _so_ loud," he complained, using one of his hands to hold me down, while using the other to rub his eyes.

My eyes widened and I let out a tiny scream. He was glaring at me with a look of irritation clear in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Chad scoffed and brought his lips next to my ear. "This," he whispered sultrily, "is _my_ room."

"Well then…what am I doing here?" I shivered at his close contact, and tried to ignore the deafening sound that came from the beating of my heart.

Chad lifted himself up slightly to look at me, gripping my arms even tighter. I winced from the slight pain that came, but mostly because he was giving me the scariest glower I've ever seen. "What do you think?" he snapped.

"I…eh…" I didn't really have any clue as to why I was here, and the only thing I could possibly think of in my mind, I didn't dare to say it out loud. But it seemed Chad knew what I was thinking about anyways and rolled his eyes.

"You dirty minded girl," he muttered, jumping off of me and into the washroom. I sat up to see what he was doing just as he came back with a pile of clothes in his hand. My clothes. It was then that I realized I was wearing pajamas-and certainly not my pajamas. I figured Elise must have lent me these overnight.

Chad threw the pile of clothes in his hands, and a reeking stench so nasty filled my nose. I turned away and made a face, before throwing the pile on the floor. "What _is_ that?"

He smirked. "You don't remember?" Chad blinked innocently but then frowned; pointing to the pile of clothes on the floor with loathe: "That, my sober Sonny, is your _puke_. Which I had to inhale for a good thirty minutes carrying you here. Oh and we can't forget what happened to my shoes."

Chad stomped to his garbage can to pick up his vomit-ridden pair of shoes, before dumping it back in the can and glaring at me accusingly, like it was my fault. Well, maybe it sort of was, but he was his fault for being such a jerk to me at the party and not being grateful at all.

Again, as if he read my mind, Chad aimed a finger towards me and declared, "This is all _your _fault, Sonny!"

"How is it my fault?" I quickly protested, getting angry again, "You're the one who wasn't grateful last night when…I ran…to…" I momentarily lost track of my sentence because Chad had moved closer with each word I'd spoken, and was now staring at me intently at a very close distance.

His head kept moving towards me, making me back away until I was stretched out on the bed again, and him hovering only inches above me. I couldn't stop the loud hammering of my heart and the weird warm feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to melt. Throughout my whole body, I had goose bumps prickling through my arms, legs and spine, but it was the good kind-the kind that made you weak in the knees…and everywhere else.

For a while, I thought he was just going to keep looking at me from this position, but then a slow, striking grin crept up his lips, and he leaned even closer, blowing a cool breath on my face. "I heard all of this yesterday, Sonny."

It took a while for me to register what he said and my eyes widened in shock when I did. "You...what?"

"Never mind," Chad replied nonchalantly, making me want to know even more. Which is exactly why he did it.

"No, no, tell me!" I pleaded.

This was the wrong thing to do, because he had a more devilish grin spread wide across his face, and he placed his forehead against mine. My breathing hitched, but he either didn't hear it, or ignored it. "You won't admit it if I tell you."

"I'll admit it!" I just wanted to know whatever I said to him.

"Nah..." he sighed, stretching the word out a bit the way he knows I hate. I gave him a frustrated sigh, and he laughed. It was then did I realize he was just messing with me. "Promise?"

"Promise, now tell me what happened yesterday!" As soon as the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted them; wishing I could take them back. I really should stop being so impulsive and just think for once before I act. That look on Chad's face made me realize that I'm better off not knowing.

Chad grinned even wider. "Okay, you asked for it." He paused-just for effect, I assumed-to see if I would object, and when I didn't, continued speaking. "Well, I told you to get back to work, or join the party. From what Alex said, apparently you joined the party and got drunk." He gave me a pointed look and I shook my head.

"Yeah, yeah, I already know all that. What happened then?" Damn it, Sonny. You have _got_ to stop blabbing these things out.

"You left the hotel-drunk, I might add-and ended up at the train station, where I found you in the _pouring rain_, by the way," he added, narrowing his eyes at me, but he feigned happiness and gave me a cheerful smile. "And then you puked on all over my shoes!"

"But what about the part where you said you heard all of it yesterday? All of _what_ yesterday?" I was getting really aggravated with the anticipation. Chad seems to know that as well and dragged it out even longer.

"Ohhh...that thing. Hmm. I don't remember." He furrowed his brows and scrunched up his face like he was trying his best to remember. I rolled my eyes and thrust my knee to jab him in the stomach. He grunted and groaned before scowling at me again. "Geez. Alright, alright, I remember."

I smirked. "I bet you do."

His lips morphed into a smile again as he started talking. "You were jealous."

"I was not-" I stopped in mid-sentence as he raised his eyebrows at me, reminding me of my promise. "Sorry. Reflex."

Chad snorted. "Reflex for what? Denying your jealousy?"

"Okay now you're pushing it." I shifted around on the bed so that Chad's head was now at the crook of my neck, still sending me the same shivers as before, but it wasn't as bad now that I wasn't looking into those charming eyes of his that seemed to lure you into his soul the longer you stare at them. "Fine. I was...a little bit..." I swallowed and gritted my teeth together before saying the dreaded word, "..._jealous_."

I felt him laugh on my neck, which made his body shake against mine. He brought his head up and hovered above me at a farther distance, but not far enough I'd have to get up to kiss him. Not that I would. Or want to. A huge smile was spread across his smirk but gorgeous face, and I knew he how much he was enjoying my embarrassment. "I knew it. You love me."

"I do not!" I cringed when he only pushed me down harder. "Let go!"

"You love me, you love me, you love me," he chanted, and then shifting his arms to either side of me so he could lean closer. Now that my arms were free, I used one of them to slap his face. "Ohhh…so that's how it's gonna be." He made a wailing high-pitched sound that resembled closely to a cat's meow when he said the word, "Ohhh" (_A/N: Like he did in Falling For The Falls Part 2)_ "I didn't know you were a promise breaker, Sonny. Didn't you say you'll admit it?"

I sighed. "Yes, but only to what I actually said last night. And I know I didn't say I loved you." My eyes widened as a frightening thought came to me. "I didn't say I loved you, did I?"

Chad grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "Maaayybe..."

I slapped him again and he winced in pain. "Did I?"

"Fine! No, you didn't!" He rubbed his cheek with the palm of his hand while I smirked in satisfaction; breathing a sigh of relief. Then Chad smiled again and leaned close to my ear. "_Yet_."

"Ugh." I made a face and tried to push him off of me but he wouldn't budge. "Me saying I love you is as impossible as…you or Tawni calling yourselves ugly. Or Nico getting a date with Portlyn. Or Grady-"

"Okay, okay," Chad cut in, clearly annoyed, "It's unlikely."

"No, it's _impossible_." I wanted to stop talking about this so I quickly changed the subject. "Anyways, why am I here? Why didn't you put me in your guest room or something?"

His smile quickly dropped and his tone was a lot snappier. "Why are you so ungrateful? I wanted to put you on the floor because you stank, but you're lucky Elise was still awake. She told me to give you my bed because it's most comfortable bed in the house-but come on, it's _my_ bed. No way am I giving you it after I carried you all the way here. So I figured if you get to sleep on _my_ bed, then so do I."

"Oh, Chad, you're so generous," I mumbled ironically, rolling my eyes in the process.

Chad snorted, before furrowing his brows at me. "Why are you so stupid? Why did you let yourself get _that _drunk, and then lost? Do you know how dangerous it is to go out there into the night by yourself? Do you know how worried everyone was? It took me an hour to finally find you. Who knows what could've happened to you if I didn't? And then I was nice enough to carry you back here, and you don't even remember what happened. And you're _still_ not thanking me." I've never seen him so angry in the few months that I've known him. Not even at that time I kissed Hayden on the kiss cam. He was screaming at me then, but even though he's not screaming now, somehow, that scares me more than ever.

I narrowed my eyes at him, not ready to back down. "Well now you know how it feels being unappreciated."

I pushed him away from me so that I was sitting halfway up on the bed, and able to poke his chest with my finger for each comment I shot I at him, "You are the most temperamental, bipolar, irritable, egotistical, despicable, arrogant, cocky, person I have ever met. And you know what? I'm glad I got drunk and had you carry me all the way over here. I hope your arms were really sore then. You were the one who treated me badly and didn't even thank me for doing that. You kept making fun of me too and looking down on me. And then told me to rudely leave even though I was trying to help Chelsea. And by the way, you and she will make a great couple. You both are snobby, spoiled, cruel, people who don't know how to say thank you-"

Chad placed his palm over my mouth to shut me up. He didn't look as mad anymore, and instead was taking all of this calmly. His eyes were filled with genuine concern for me, and the teeny smile on his face was warm. "And all this happened," he spoke softly, "because you were jealous?"

When I didn't respond to that, he pressed his lips together to keep from grinning. I just gave him another frosty look wordlessly. "_Thank_-" he uncovered my lips and pushed me back on the bed gently before leaning close again, "-_you_." Chad then planted his lips on the tip of my nose, making me giggle ridiculously as he did.

He nuzzled my cheek with his cheek, sending a warm, fuzzy feeling up and down my spine. "Don't get jealous, Sonny," he murmured-his lips against my jaw bone-before lifting his head up to stare in my eyes, "It's not worth it." Chad hoisted himself up and tilted his face closer to mine, closing his eyes. My eyes fluttered and then naturally closed by themselves while my lips puckered up towards him, waiting for the kiss. Just when I thought his lips should be on mine by now, I felt him rise and jump on the space beside me.

It took me a while to register what was happening, so when I opened my eyes to find the ceiling in my view, and not Chad, it still got me confused. I looked to my left and saw him lying in the same position he started out this morning; breathing evenly.

"Hey!" I shot out of my position to get a better look at him. "What are you doing?"

Chad grumbled and shifted on the bed so that his back was facing me. "Sleeping," he mumbled, "So be quiet."

"But…" I was still a little dazed at what just happened there. Wasn't he about to kiss me?

I watched as he tilted his head slightly to make it look like he was talking to me, but his eyes were still closed. "You didn't actually think I would kiss you with your smelly morning breath, did you?" Chad's lip twitched slightly, like he was holding back an amused smile.

My mouth dropped open and I grabbed a pillow and started beating him with it. "You jerk!" I shouted, repeatedly doing the movement over and over again. He said something to me, but it was muffled by the pillow in his face. Eventually, he got used to the pillow repetitively hitting him in the same spot and didn't complain anymore.

So I threw away the pillow and started slapping his face with my hands. This got him to wake up and grunt, before turning over again so that he was face-down on the bed. I just kept hitting his back, and then ruffling his hair, because I knew how annoyed he gets when people did that. "Stop pretending to be asleep, you jerk!"

"Arrrghhh," he cried into the pillow, before turning over and grabbing my wrists firmly. He jerked them aggressively towards him so that I landed on top of his chest.

"Sonny," he started, dangerously calm, "I went to bed at three in the morning, thanks to you. I woke up at seven in the morning, thanks to you. And now I just want to go back to sleep and have a good dream where you won't be waking me up all the time. Can't I have just that?" I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off, "I will do _anything_ if you just leave me alone and let me sleep."

I let out a chuckle, which made him widen his eyes in surprise, because I guess he wasn't expecting me to laugh or agree. "Okedoke."

"Thank God," he muttered, sighing in relief as he rested his head comfortably on the pillow before closing his eyes again.

I didn't even notice how tired he looked until he mentioned his lack of sleep. His hair was all mussed up, sure, but it was like that all the time. I didn't really find anything different about it. But what really set him apart from the usual Chad were the bags under his eyes. How could I have completely missed that when he was so close to me a few seconds ago? I guess I really did tire him out, and him carrying me home was I guess his way of thanking me. Which reminds me…

"Chad," I whispered, wondering if he's still awake or not. He didn't answer me and his breathing stayed the same. So I called his name again, this time, shaking him gently. "Cha-ad…"

"Oh what now?" he snapped, sitting up to furiously glare at me. I cringed from his tone, and smiled sheepishly.

"Um…nothing…I just wanted to say thanks." I tried smiling brightly at him, but he just groaned and threw a pillow at me before lying back down.

"Go away, Sonny," he moaned.

"Okay, okay! I'll go take a shower," I told him, hopping off the bed and moving towards his bathroom.

I didn't expect him to say anything, but as I was just opening the bathroom door, I heard him mumble, "Take your boyfriend with you." And he stretched out his hand to point to the cabinet beside his bed. I walked to the direction he was pointing at and saw a tiny rock perched on top of it.

I giggled silently to myself and picked up the rock before placing it in my pajama pocket. If he ever asks why I decided to keep the rock, I'll just tell him that I really do have an interest in rocks. But really, I just want a reminder of him actually doing something nice for me.

- OOO –

There was nothing like a cool, refreshing shower to get you up and moving again. My head was still kind of dizzy, but it wasn't as bad now. When I jumped out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and then another one around my hair. I figured since Chad was asleep, I could just creep out of the room without him noticing.

But when I opened the door, I found a sleepy-eyed and cranky-looking Chad leaning against the doorway. His eyes were just fluttering close but he quickly snapped them open as soon as I stepped out.

I let out a scream and my hands tightened protectively around the towel on my body. "I thought you were asleep!"

He barely spared me a glance as he pushed me gently out of the way into the bathroom, yawning in the process. "Couldn't go back to sleep," he answered, draping a towel on the rack. I backed away from the bathroom before he could comment about my appearance at this moment-probably something very ill-mannered and rude, if I know Chad-but all he said was, "Get Elise to lend you clothes if you need some," before shutting the door in my face.

Wow. If he didn't even make fun of my "ugly appearance" in a towel, then I guess he must be _that_ tired. I mean, usually he's say something that would make me uncomfortable, yet at the same time, made me feel warm inside. My moods were always changing with him, and it was hard to grasp control on my feelings.

I went to find Elise, who was actually in the bathroom outside of Chad's bedroom, cleaning out the sink. I greeted her with a smile and her eyes instantly brighten when she saw me. "Oh! Ma _cherie_! How'zz arr you veeling?"

She pulled me into a hug and then stepped back when she touched my wet skin, immediately muttering about how I shouldn't run around the house like this, and frantically trying to find some clothes for me to wear. "You know, I suggezzt you avvoid Chad, _cherie_, iv you arr drezzed like ziss."

"Why? I saw him as I went out of the bathroom and he didn't care," I told her.

Elise pulled a confused face and shrugged. "Muzzt be tirred or zumthing…I bet he vould go…er…vatz da vord…? Crazzy. _Oui, oui, _that'zz it. He vould go crazzy."

"I doubt it," I disagreed, but was smiling anyways. Elise winked and gave me an outfit to wear and pushed me into the bathroom to change. When I finished changing, I found Elise downstairs in the kitchen making me breakfast.

She set down my plate of bacon and eggs just as I entered the room. I thanked her and took a big bite of the bacon first. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw the food. I guess in all the chaos last night, I had forgotten to actually eat.

Elise placed a glass of water in front of me and some pills while I gorged in the eggs. When I gave her a questioning look, she smiled knowingly at me. "Helpzz pain in head."

I grimaced, embarrassed, that she knew about what happened. But I realized she already knew last night, since she was the one who changed my clothes and told me to sleep in Chad's bed. "Thanks, Elise." I dumped the pills in my mouth and gulped the water down.

"_Cherie_," I looked up to find Elise staring at me with a serious frown on her face, "You muzzt be carreful in partiezzz. Don't drrrrink morrre zan you can handle."

"Don't worry, Elise. I don't think I'll be drinking for a very _long_ time," I assured her, bringing a smile to her face.

"_Good_!" Elise clapped her hands and motioned for me to continue eating.

I took some butter and jam and started spreading it across the bread before taking a big bite out of it too. Elise sat down in front of me and we started talking about everything we'd both been doing since the last time I saw her. I told her all about So Random, all of our adventures and stuff like that. We were both enjoying some bonding time until we heard Chad scream like a girl from the washroom.

Elise looked up at the ceiling as if he was there, and called out, "Vhat izz it, Chad?"

"I-I…I look…UGLY!" he wailed. Both me and Elise shot out of our seats when we heard that and ran up the stairs to find him. Well, you know if Chad calls himself that then it must be serious.

We found him still in the washroom in his bedroom, staring at the mirror in dismay, clutching his hair in frustration. I burst out laughing when I saw his hair, earning an angry frown from him. "Dude…what up with your hair?" I asked bluntly, loosely quoting Alex from last night.

The red that was in his hair last night was fading slightly-my guess, when he took a shower and got it wet. But instead of it fading _completely_, the red only faded partly-so it looked like he had got his hair done really badly. It was like a failed attempt at highlights; with more blond showing in the back than in the front.

"This is not funny, Munroe!" Chad stared in the mirror again, and I think he really was about to cry. I glanced at Elise, whose lips were starting to quiver and she was biting them hard to keep from laughing.

Elise slapped her hand over her mouth when she caught me staring at her with a smile, and quickly backed out of the washroom. "I vill be rrrright back," she muttered, before exiting the room with soft giggles.

I turned back to Chad and heaved a huge sigh. "You know, I kinda like this look better."

He narrowed his eyes at me and opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again, his eyes widening as if a bright idea suddenly sparked in his head. His lips inched into a cocky smile and he leaned against the sink.

"What?" I asked suspiciously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just realized something."

"Which is?"

He took a step towards me and wiggled his eyebrows. "I called myself ugly."

I gave him a "so?" look and sighed. "And the award for Most Densest Actor is…"

"No, stupid." Chad rolled his eyes, "You said it was impossible to love me, just like it was impossible for me to call myself ugly-which I just did. So that means if I'm able to do that, then you're able to lov-"

"Don't say it," I warned cutting him off with a death glare, "Don't you dare, Cooper."

"Or what, Munroe?" He smirked, "You won't lo-"

"I'm back!" Elise chirped-thankfully-as she walked back into the room holding a bottle in her hands. She held it up and shook it before taking off the cap. "Ziss vill fix all of yourrr prrroblemzz."

She sprayed the bottle over Chad's hair, triggering misty smoke to appear in the air. I coughed and waved my hand over my face to get the mist out of my eyes. His hair didn't look any different to me; just shinier, but Elise insisted it would work, and you just have to wait a couple more minutes.

"You could take anozzer zhower iv you vant it to vork vaster," Elise suggested, and Chad immediately kicked us out of the bathroom. I heard the water running again a few seconds afterwards and Elise and I both chuckled as we went back down to the kitchen.

We arrived back at the kitchen, where I continued to eat my delicious breakfast. When I finished, I washed it down with some milk before proceeding to the living room to watch TV. I heard footsteps padding down the stairs as I mindlessly flipped through the channels.

There was murmuring in the kitchen before I heard the crackle of heat of Elise's frying pan, signaling she was cooking another meal. My tummy growled in anticipation as I hoped it would be for me. But then Chad came into the room, crushing my hopes.

He was wearing only a towel; his whole upper body bare and wet. When he spotted me on the couch, Chad grinned at me, making his way towards me. I gulped and used my hair to block my view of him, staring instead at the TV intently.

"So as I was saying..." he started, plopping down beside me, sitting at an unnecessarily close distance too, "I'm anticipating the day when you'll finally admit you love me."

"Please, I don't even _like_ you," I lied.

Chad scoffed. "Yeah, and your jealousy last night proved that."

I didn't reply, because it was partly true. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, which was a mistake because I loved the way he looked when he's wet. It just made him even cuter; with his dripping hair that shook whenever he moved around, reminding of a wet golden retriever that you could just hug and cuddle whenever you need a friend, always there when you need someone to play with, and just _so_ adorable...oh who am I kidding. It was one hundred and one percent true.

Instead, I decided to turn this game on him. "Well, what about you, Chad? When will _you_ admit you love me?"

I expected him to frown and deny it, but he kept smiling, and looked pretty calm. He answered with a simple, "When you admit it first."

"So you're admitting there's something there to admit," I checked.

"I'm not admitting anything until you admit it first."

"Which part?"

Chad placed his wet forehead on top of mine; his eyes dancing intently with excitement. "Everything."

A few droplets of water dripped onto my face, sliding down my cheek, my neck, and then down my spine, making me shiver slightly. But I think the shiver was mostly from the stare he was giving me, than the water. I swallowed nervously before I answered. "I-I...uh..."

Fortunately, the doorbell rang, saving me from having to face this humiliating situation. I quickly brightened as I jumped off the couch to get the door. "I'll get it!" I shouted cheerfully, unbolting the locks.

"Oh, thank God. I was worried about you! Where have you-" Chelsea paused when the door fully opened, revealing my pyjama-cladded self, "-been."

Her shoulders drooped and all vulnerability that was previously in her voice was now gone, replaced with a hostile coldness that I gave me chills. She narrowed her eyes icily at me, making me want to cringe away. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I was just-"

"Shouldn't you be at home?" Chelsea interrupted rudely. I glared at her harsh tone.

"Shouldn't you be in a cage?" I shot back, making her roll her eyes.

Chelsea crossed her arms over her chest and peered over my shoulder. "Where's Chad?"

I shrugged. "In the living room." Chelsea took one step inside the house but stopped when she saw my pajamas. She eyed my suspiciously before widening her eyes, frowning deeply.

"Oh my god, did you sleep over?" she wailed, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Well-"

"I can't believe you would take advantage of Chad like that," Chelsea continued, giving me a disgusted look as her eyes traveled up and down my body. "I know you were drunk and everything, but you shouldn't force him into something he doesn't want to do. Oh my poor Chad! I can't believe he had to endure it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake some sense into this girl, "Stop jumping to conclusions. That's ridiculous, I never slept with Chad-well, I did but-"

"I knew it! Stay away from him you vile creature!" The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust while I rolled my eyes.

"_But_," I continued, "All we did was _sleep_. Relax. There's no way I would sleep with Chad."

Chelsea's face immediately lit up at that comment and she was back to her snooty self as she sniffed her nose in the air, holding her chin up boastfully. "Yeah, I guess I should calm down. I mean, Chad would never sleep with you. Your figure is too old lady-like."

I smiled triumphantly, "Exact-hey!" frowning only after I realized she just insulted me.

Chelsea only smiled smugly before poking her head through the door, searching for Chad again. "So where is he?"

"Inside," I mumbled unhappily before calling over my shoulder, "Chad! Someone's here to see you!"

"Who is it?" he called back.

"Just come here!"

I turned back to Chelsea with a straight face, not wanting to let her annoy me this early in the morning. Chelsea bit her lip and furrowed her brows at me. "Are you sure you didn't sleep with him?"

"Yes!" I raised my hands up exasperatedly. "We did _nothing. _How many times do I have to tell you, 'no'? No. No. No. N-"

"Who is it?" Chad asked again as he came into the room, still wearing nothing but a towel, and wearing that same smirk on his face. That is, until, he saw who was at the door. His smirk instantly disappeared and he cringed awkwardly while I watched Chelsea's mouth drop open in astonishment and giving me a glare full of detest.

She crossed her arms over her chest furiously. "You were _saying_?"

* * *

_A/N: Lol, I love, love, looooove writing Chelsea. She is like, my favourite character to write. Even though I know how much you guys hate her. I love her :D_

_Oh, and I'm soo sorry to leave you guys like this, but this is my** last chapter** before I go away on vacation. :D I'm leaving tomorrow, but don't worry, I'm only gone for a week. And I promise to have another chapter up then as soon as I get back. So yeah. Adios.  
_

_Kay, anyways, reviiew please!_


	19. Nothing To Admit

_A/N: Moooreee drama...I can't help it! It fits better into the story-though I'm not sure it fits into the whole Disney Sonny/Chad vibe. I think I went past that vibe a looong time ago. Anyways, just bear with me guys. I have the whole drama-filled story planned to the end already. It's not _too_ bad, but it's really bugging me that I turned into such a sap. _

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**gomee23LuvsPercy**,** TheirDiamonds, Princess-Sled, channyfan13, AbbielovesChanny, bmwgirl123, S-musiclover, LilChante**,  
_AND TO MY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS_, **ella101 ()** (_thanks! lool, ur so elated..aha, and be patient, grasshopper :P), _**Live Laugh Luv Life () **_(yeah, i know who u are, i remember dedicating one chapter to u. thanks! :D),_ **Jenny579 ()**_ (aw, its okay! and thanks!)_** lolz3 ()** _(lool, thanks, i liked that part too. and i kinda modelled elise as one of my friends whos kinda motherly but spunky too...lool),_ **()**_ (thank you! and i did have a great vacation :D),_

_And anyone else who reads. Merci beaucoup!  
_

_Disclaimer: Too lazy to type it._

_

* * *

_

18. Nothing To Admit

**CPOV:**

"_Chelsea?_" Oh, man. Judging from her expression, I knew this wasn't going to be good. She looked like I just stepped on her injured foot, over and over again.

I shifted nervously to one foot while Sonny chuckled awkwardly. "So…why don't you come in?" she offered, making a sweeping gesture with her hands towards the house.

Both Chelsea and I gave her a glare to shut up, but Chelsea stepped inside the house anyways. She pushed Sonny out of the way, completely ignoring her, as she looked straight at me with pure determination on her face. "We need to talk."

- OOO-

When I had finally gotten dressed, I led Chelsea to our backyard to talk. There was a small pathway made of stones and we walked on it together before stopping under a large maple tree.

"Do you remember this?" I asked, smiling up at the tree. "You used to hide here all the time every time we played hide and seek. And it's amazing that I never actually caught you."

"Stop changing the subject," she snapped sharply, peering at me with angry eyes, "Why did you sleep with her?"

I sighed. "I only _slept_ with her. We didn't do anything."

"Then why were you shirtless?"

"I couldn't find the top I wanted to wear and went downstairs to get Elise to get it for me." I shrugged when she still looked unconvinced. "I was just waiting for her in the living room."

"Couldn't you have waited in your room, or the kitchen, or pretty much anywhere that Sonny isn't? Or just get another shirt, for god's sake." Chelsea crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "I'm not an idiot, Chad. I know something happened between you guys."

I groaned in frustration as I raised my arms exasperatedly. "I swear to you, there is nothing going on between-" There was a sound that sounded like a bump, followed by a hushed, "shhh". I furrowed my brows and looked at the back gate suspiciously. I raised one finger up to Chelsea, "Hold on," and bent my ear close to the wooden gate.

There were some faint sounds from behind it, making me roll my eyes. I jerked the gate open and stepped back when Sonny and Elise came tumbling down to the ground.

"Ow!" Sonny said, rubbing her head as Elise struggled to get up. When they saw me staring at them with raised eyebrows, they both smiled sheepishly. "We were just..."

"Leaving?" I motioned to the house. "Mind your own business."

"Sorry," Sonny shot Elise a glare and started tugging her away. "This was her idea."

Elise resisted and planted her feet firmly on the ground, refusing to move. "Vait a minuuute! I have a right to be hereee too. Zis iz my houze az much az it iz yourzz."

I let out an irritated breath, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes, but it isn't Sonny's house. So she has to go."

"Hey!" Sonny cried.

Elise tugged Sonny to her side and wrapped a protective arm around her. "If Connie getz to ztay, _ma cherie_ getz to ztay alzo."

"My name is Chelsea," Chelsea corrected. I ignored her and spoke only to Elise.

"Ugh. Look, she can't stay okay? This is a private conversation between me and Chels," I pointed my finger to Chelsea, who was standing there looking more annoyed by the minute. I stared at Elise, trying to make her go away with my eyes. "Either she leaves; or you _both_ leave."

I knew Elise would never leave Sonny hanging like that, so when she opened her mouth to agree, there was a second where I felt relieved. But that instantly disappeared as soon as Chelsea started talking. "Yeah, that's right. I'm okay with anything as long as Sonny leaves."

I wanted to slap her. That would only make Sonny want to-

"Huh. Well, then, I _have_ to stay," Sonny said, sizing up Chelsea.

-stay. I mentally slapped my forehead.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. "Well nobody wants you here."

"That's not true," Sonny insisted, "Elise wants me here, right?"

Elise nodded proudly at Sonny, but aimed a frosty look to Chelsea. "I zon't vant _Carrie _to ztay zo." I groaned out loud. No one paid attention to me though.

"Nobody asked you," Chelsea spat, and then added, "It's Chelsea, by the way."

"And Chad," Sonny continued, glancing at me, and suddenly _everyone_ was looking at me. "Well, he was the one who brought me here, so..."

"He doesn't want you here, either," Chelsea interrupted; her voice rising up to a panic. She stepped closer to me in a territorial kind of way, making me cringe. That's it. I have to stop this before Chelsea gets mad at me again, and then we'll never settle this whole thing between us. All I needed was a few minutes alone with Chelsea to tell her how I feel. But I knew there was no way Sonny would leave as long as Chelsea wants her to.

The only person that could ever get under her skin that much to make her that angry and upset-enough to get her to leave-is me. I knew that now-well, ever since last night. I knew I was going to do some major damage control after this, and I'd probably regret it, but I had to.

Before Sonny could reply a confident and smug comment I knew she was about to retort, I quickly cut in, stepping in front of Chelsea to give her a malicious frown. "She's right," I snapped at her spitefully, "I don't want you here. Nobody does. I had to take care of you all last night-do you really think I'd want to spend _more_ time with you? Look, I brought you here, because you were sick and helpless. You're obviously fine now. So get out."

The whole time I was talking, Sonny just stood still and frozen; staring at me with a shocked expression. That look on her face just made me want to punch myself for treating her this way. Her heartbroken face triggered a feeling of remorse and shame inside of me, but I quickly pushed it aside, bringing out my acting skills again.

My throat was parched when I spoke the next words flatly, "Leave."

"Chad!" Elise scolded, also appalled at my behavior. "Vhat arre you doing? Ztop being zo mean to her!"

"Yeah, Chad," Chelsea whispered in a fake-sad voice, before perking up loudly, "Be even meaner!"

"Zhut up, Cory," Elise snapped at her.

Chelsea's green orbs tightened, and she looked like she was about to kill Elise. "My name is Chelsea-how could you mix that up with a guy's name?"

Elise's eyes got big and round as she blinked innocently and smirked. "Oops! Sorrrrry! I zid not know you vere a girrrl."

Chelsea growled at Elise, but she seemed unaffected by it.

I ignored them both and just stared at Sonny with the coldest expression on my face. I really should just go to confession once in a while. This was probably the worst thing I've ever done to someone. I swallowed the protests telling me to stop treating her this way and pull her into a hug, and gritted my teeth together.

"Please, Sonny?" I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. If she didn't leave now, I doubt I'd still have enough self-control to keep damaging her. That's what I was doing. I could see in her eyes that she was beyond hurt; it was like she was just empty now-her soul broken and crumpled. I had damaged her soul just by doing this. But it seemed like my soul was breaking too.

What was wrong with me? With her? What was wrong with us both? _She_ shouldn't be so hurt by this. She didn't have any feelings for me or anything. It doesn't matter to her. But the most surprising thing is that _I'm_ also equally upset with hurting her. Which doesn't make sense, since I'm the one doing the hurting. I didn't have any feelings for her either...did I?

I was just about to cave in and tell her she could stay when Sonny blinked and snapped out of her surprised reverie. She nodded, still stunned, and wordlessly left the backyard to leave. All the while, my heart kept dropping with each step she took, and I felt like barfing. This makes no sense at all. I was going to see her at work for at least another month of the summer, and then all year round on the studio. So why did it feel like she had just walked out of my life for good?

- OOO -

I was still staring after Sonny when I felt a painful slap across my cheek. Elise was standing in front of me; looking as furious as ever. "I zon't know who you arre anymorrre."

I didn't answer her, but Chelsea scoffed beside me. "Stop being so melodramatic, maid."

Elise's eyes flashed angrily at her and Chelsea jerked a step back as if she had hit her too. My au pair narrowed her eyes at the girl, snarling, "Ztay out of zis, Chloe."

"_Chelsea. _And why should I? You didn't mind butting _your_ butt into _our_ conversation."

"Chelsea." I grabbed her arm and started walking towards the gate. "Let's go find a place where we can talk without any of the maids bugging us."

Elise's mouth dropped open and her face scrunched up in bewilderment. I was expecting her to shout back at me, but all she said was, "I hope you havve yourrr key, Chad. Becuzz zat 'maid' iz not letting you back in tonight." With that, she stalked off towards the house angrily.

Chelsea smirked and linked her arms through mine happily. "Let's go to that old park we used to go to, so we can talk."

"Sure." I mumbled, feeling like such a jerk. While Chelsea jabbered at how happy she was that I took her side and everything, I glanced back towards the path to the house; filled with regret and longing. "Whatever."

- OOO -

**SPOV:**

Somehow, when I had walked out of the Cooper estate, my feet had taken me back to the hotel and I was now standing in front of the pool. Even though it was my weekend off, I knew Dean would be working today-since his weekend off was next week (well, we can't _all_ be _not_ working, right?), so I decided to pay him a visit and help him out with anything he needs.

As I predicted, he was sitting on the lifeguard chair with his funky blue shades, flipping through a magazine with a lack of interest. He glanced up when he saw me and flashed me a brilliant white smile. "Hey, Sonny. What up, dudette? We thought you died when you didn't show up for desserts last night." I swear, sometimes he just sounds so much like Alex it was scary.

When I didn't smile or laugh, Dean frowned and jumped down from the chair to touch my arm gently. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I really didn't know what I was even doing here. I guess my mind just somehow led me to him because he was Chad's best friend, and something just felt wrong when he kicked me out. It was like he didn't mean it, even though another piece of my mind kept telling me to stop fooling myself and just accept the jerk he is. But I can't do that. There was another part nagging at me-the stronger part-telling me he had a reason for being so rude. But whatever. I just need to stop thinking about him. I'll just ignore him from my life forever from now on.

I still wondered though. He's never spoken to me like that before, so why would he start now? A shocking thought came to me when I consider it might be because of Chelsea. What if he wanted to be alone with her to confess his feelings for her? What if...

"Sonny?" Dean asked again, waving a hand over my face to snap me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

He frowned, looking at me with concern. "You look a little distracted. Why are you here? You should go and rest-yesterday you drank a lot of wine, and Chad told me you threw up too. You must feel awful."

"I do, but it's not because of that." Dean was staring at me with a sympathetic look and I airily waved it off. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine, really."

"Okay...but what are you doing here?"

What am I doing here?

"I...don't really know..." Both our heads swivelled towards the pool when we heard a splash. I watched in surprise as Michael surfaced in the water and glared at a girl standing on the deck, with her arms crossed in a poised stance. Bianca.

"You did that on purpose!" he yelled accusingly at her. She just smirked at him before heading towards the change rooms, but not before twirling her fingers at him in a flirty way. Michael blinked in confusion, but immediately shook it off and submerged under water again.

I giggled at their antics-remembering my first puppy love affair-but stopped when Dean raised his eyebrows at me. "I'm here to...uh...talk to Bianca. Later." I quickly followed after Bianca to the change rooms, hoping to catch her before she showered.

She was on a bench, combing her perfectly dry brown hair. Her hands stilled when she saw me wave at her, but continued their movement momentarily after. "Hey, Sonny."

"Hey." I sat down beside her and waited until she was done combing before I started talking. "So...I just wanted to say..." I paused, unsure if I should tell her I heard her and her evil sister talking about me. She was looking at me expectantly to finish, so I lamely came up with, "that...you're doing really well in my class!"

She stared at me like I was some freak, and I mentally slapped myself for acting like such an idiot. I sighed and stood up, ready to back out, when she spoke up, "Thanks."

I turned back with a bright smile on my face. "You're welcome! So, well, that's it. I'll just go now..." I was just backing out when she started talking again.

"I wish you were my sister," she mumbled quietly, probably not wanting me to hear it, but I did. I paused awkwardly at the door, not knowing how to respond. I mean, I can't just tell her I eavesdropped-I mean, overheard-their entire conversation, now can I?

I walked slowly back towards her and petted her head lovingly. "You don't wish that. You might wish that now, but Chels-I mean, whoever you're sister is-will probably come through for you later on. Trust me."

Bianca sighed and put her brush away. "Whatever."

I nodded but turned back over my shoulder at the last minute and called out, "And Bianca?"

"Yeah?" She lifted her head up.

I smiled warmly at her, murmuring, "Thanks," before exiting the change rooms.

- OOO -

**CPOV:**

The trees in the park were rustling loud enough to drown out the sound of children playing on the slides and swings. The sun was shining brightly; highlighting the already-colourful leaves into a more accentuated and serene colour, as the flutter gently to the ground.

Chelsea and I sat on one of the benches, taking in this beautiful day with contentment and despair. Despair was for me, while Chelsea was smiling brightly at all of this. Well, the damage was done. I might as well get this over with.

I turned to Chelsea and regarded her cautiously. "Chels," I started in a soft tone, trying my best to be gentle with this.

"Wait. Before you say anything, I want to tell you something." She took my hands and gripped it tightly in hers. "Thanks for taking my side today. I was kind of afraid I was losing you to...well, I don't want to say her name. Anyways, I was really scared you might reject my confession to you, and choose her over me, but I'm not worried now." She gave me a huge genuine smile and leaned in to kiss me, but I took my hand out of hers and covered her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

Chelsea took a hold of my hand again and laughed. "Well, that's what your here for, right? To tell me you love me back? I mean, this is where we used to come every time one of us has to tell each other something. Good memories in this place."

"But Chels, just because I have to tell you something, doesn't mean it's...good..." I was really struggling with this. This was so hard! How do people in the movies do this? Wait, duh. It's acting. And you know what? I'm an actor. I should be able to do this easily.

Staring at Chelsea's wide smile that turned confused, I realized it was easier said than done. How was I supposed to let her down..._gently_? I mean, if I was going to reject someone, I'd do it Chad-style. And being nice while upsetting them isn't that easy to do. But I was willing to do it for Chelsea, since she is very close to me.

"What do you mean? You're here to tell me you've finally realized you love me, right?" She asked, her voice rising to a panic. Chelsea frowned when I gave her an apologetic look. "_Right_?"

I sighed, taking my hands away again. This time, she didn't try to take them back. "I-I...I'm sorry, Chels."

Her face contorted into anguish. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I'm not here to admit my love for you," I told her gently, staring at her straight in the eye, "because...there is nothing to admit."

"Wha-but...but...y-you..." Chelsea stuttered, staring at me with a dream-like expression on her face.

"I know you said when I think it over, I'd come to and realize that you're the one for me," I continued, still using that calm and gentle tone, "But every time I think about you and me getting together, it just feels wrong to me. I don't even have to think about it for long-I know that I don't feel the same way for you. And I don't need to think it over, Chels. I've realized it a long time ago. I don't love you."

Chelsea jerked back, shooting up from her seat, as if I had stung her.

I took a deep breath, and continued, despite the signs that she was about to cry. I knew she needed to hear this. This was the closure she needed to get over me. "You're my best friend. You've always been my best friend. And that's all I'll ever see you as."

"It's her, isn't it?" Chelsea was looking at me like she didn't know me anymore-like I was some kind of raging monster. Her voice was cracking, but no tears were in her eyes.

I hesitated with my answer, thinking it over for a moment. Chelsea was waiting for my response with a defeated look on her face. I sighed and nodded. "Partly."

"Partly?"

I closed my eyes and tried to think this through again. Was I finally admitting it? When I opened my eyes, and saw Chelsea's hurt expression that reminded me of Sonny's just a few moments ago, but didn't give me the same agonizing feeling I felt before, I realized that, yes, I was. When I opened my eyes, Chelsea was on the swings, staring at the ground miserably.

Taking a seat beside her, I followed her movement and resumed my speech. "I admit, that Sonny has a big role in all of this, because I do realize I have feelings for her. I do like her."

Chelsea's head jerked up when I said that and she looked like I had just slapped her face really hard.

I frowned in confusion. "Didn't you already know that? You were the one who got me to admit it in the first place-"

"I know, I know. I just never thought you'd admit it," she muttered, which made me realize why she kept persisting me, and trying her best to win my affections. I guess she thought if I never admit it, the feeling might go away and I might end up liking her instead. "I can't believe this. I've known you longer."

"You keep saying that," I observed, "So, what? Does that mean I'll like you better? Chels, it doesn't matter if there was no Sonny. I still wouldn't like you that way. And one day, you'll realize you don't like me that way either. This is all just an infatuation-"

"It's not," Chelsea insisted, staring at me, "I do like you-"

"Now, you do. But later on, you'll realize I'm not the one for you. We're better off as brothers and sisters. Come on, Chels. Do you really want to ruin our friendship by hating me because I didn't return the love you'll probably get over in a couple of years? I love you, Chels. But you're my sister."

When Chelsea didn't reply, I took it as an agreement. Or, she could just be thinking about what I said. Either way, she finally listened to me. She cast her face to the ground and I took it as an opportunity to leave. Standing up, I brushed the sand from my pants and gave her a chaste kiss on her head, adding, "That will never change," before walking away.

When I had just reached the pathway to my house, Chelsea called my name, making me turn around.

She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "She better take good care of you, Cooper! If she doesn't, I'll wipe that cheesy Wisconsin smile right off her ugly face!"

I chuckled and waved to her as an agreement.

Chelsea waved back, smiling as bright as the sun was-the very same sun that shone splendidly on my pathway back home, highlighting the brilliant smile that was on my face too.

* * *

_A/N: Ending? CORNY. -.-_

_If you guys haven't noticed, Elise is a total Channy shipper :D lools. _

_And when Sonny said, "Well then, I have to stay," hehee, she's picking up on Chad's habits :D Can't you guys just wait for all this drama to be over? I can't...ugh. I hate writing it so much, but it's essential to the story. It leads up to all the good parts later on. :) So bear with me._

_REEEview! _


	20. Why Don't You Come Closer?

_A/N: Another confession time! You know how Sonny was acting all tough and everything in this chapter? And coming up with positive ways on how Chad was actually _not_ that mean to her? She was mad at him on the outside, but on the inside, it's like she was trying to reassure herself that Chad was just being a guy and everything. Weell..that is the way I get if I get hurt...just thought I should put that out there. You know, in case you were wondering where I got Sonny's personality from...and no, maybe you're not. Lol, kay you don't care. Moving on..._

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**KayDee-DesignerExtraordinare, Tee and Biscuits, poppysmic59, channy1441997, unwritten010778, rachelg1630, Sabie1309, Lady Weird** _(ehehee, now THIS is the story of my life :P),_ **Sonny112** _(thank you!),_ **Sunneshine123** _(thank you),_ **, penguin1, **_(TOP 3? lol, wooowwee. thank you soo much! :D that makes me smile and do my happy dance, right,_ **Victoria**_? wink wink),_** leesuhx7, lilachic17, **  
_and to my anonymous reviewers,_ **ella101 ()** _(not unless he has the keys. lol, and thanks for loving elise? :P), _**lolz3 ()** _(actually, yeah that's true. she does know that somewhere. good for you to notice that. i think your the only one who was able to stop freaking out and notice it for a minute. lol, kidding. but yeah.), _**ChannyIsBetterThanJemi ()** _(thank youuu! and i completely agree with your name. i do not like them with anyone else. lol), _**Natasha**_ (aha, wow. you're hyped. okay then. i updated. happy?), _

_And anyone else who reads. Shathanksyouu. That's right. I sorta made up a word. _

_Disclaimer: No, No, NO!

* * *

_

19. Why Don't You Come Closer?

**SPOV:**

As I walked towards the hotel pool on Monday, I was feeling a lot more positive and regenerated. Especially after that sweet talk I had with Bianca. And when I went home to chat with my parents and everything, telling them all about the _good_ parts of this job-leaving out any parts about…what's-his-name. Anyways, we had loads of fun at home, and then Alex showed up unexpectedly, yelling at me to never leave a party drunk all by myself again, blowing my cover.

But my parents were very sweet about it, and my dad recalled a time when he got a little too drunk at a party when he was my age as well, and ended up in the garbage dumpster the next morning with a girl. Okay, so it was a little too much information that I wanted to know, but nevertheless, he forgave me-as long as nothing happened to me, and I was still good old Sonny.

So then Alex stayed over for the night and I told her everything that happened. Like any other girl who just got kicked out of a house by a guy she thought she had feelings for but apparently not, since no guy she'd have feelings for would kick her out, even though she thought he had feelings for her too, but if he kicked her out, then what feelings could he possibly have-_anyways_, we just watched a movie together and ate tubs and tubs of chocolate ice cream together. There. Then we had a nice little talk on how we didn't need any guys in our life, but it was mostly me. Alex informed me her love life was doing great (I didn't even realize she had one), she just needed it to get going now. Which I had no idea what it means. But we had fun, and I felt a lot better.

Granted, I didn't want to go to work this morning, but Alex convinced me that I had to show up to show everyone I wasn't weak. Or a coward. I didn't really care what they thought of me, but somehow, Alex managed to get me here-saying it was _important_ that I come to work. I guess she's just looking out for me in case Mr. Holman asked what I was doing skipping work today. So I didn't want to go to work, but now that I'm here, and everything's that usual, normal, noisy atmosphere, I feel a lot better. I realized Alex was right about coming here. I felt so relaxed in this atmosphere. It was like it was _my _territory.

Plus, I'm totally over…what's-his-face.

See? The fact that I can't even say his name is proof that I'm over him.

I held my head up high as I took my seat beside Dean in the lifeguard chair today, giving him a bright smile. I wasn't even _thinking_ about Cha-I mean, about anything else except for what a great day this was. There. I am completely and truly over-

"Sonny." I snapped my attention back at Dean, who was giving me another concerned look. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," I bark at him, and then I realize how snappish I sound and try a nicer tactic. "I mean, yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

"Erm…okay. Just wondering." The way he said it was kind of odd, like he was wondering whether or not he should say more. "So…you don't mind at all what happened yesterday?"

"What? About me getting drunk? No, of course not. I'm fine now." I knock on my head lightly and bring myself to smile at him. "See? It doesn't even hurt anymore when I do that."

"No, I'm talking about Chad." Dean said all of this very cautiously and slowly, as if he was scared I might start blowing up and crying in a second. But when I just gave him a look of confusion (that was totally fake, but Alex told me to play dumb whenever his name comes up), Dean relaxed slightly and continued to explain. "I heard he kicked you out."

"Who told you that?" I didn't even bother to hide my crabby tone this time.

Dean grinned sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "I promised I wouldn't say…"

"Tell me!" I demanded, and he sighed.

"Alex," he admitted grudgingly.

I gave him a huff and pretended to concentrate on the people in the pool. Because I'm a lifeguard. And that's what lifeguards do. Not sit on their chair ogling the sky, pretending to be watching the citizens, when really, planning revenge on her blabbermouth best friend.

Well, since he knows now, there's really no point in denying it happened. I turned to face Dean with my confident smile back in place. "Yes, he was a jerk to me and kicked me out. But it's alright."

"Oh. You guys are friends again?" Dean's face was so hopeful; I hated to crush his spirits.

"No-we were never friends to begin with," I answered, my voice giving away only the slightest bit of uncertainty, "Look, the point is, I'm not bothered by it. I'll just treat him like any other boss of mine. No biggie."

"So…if he was to show up at this pool for say…swimming lessons…" There was that odd pitch in Dean's voice again, his voice elevating to a louder octave the more he spoke. "Not that he would…but if he did, you wouldn't mind?"

"No," I answered simply, "I'll act natural towards him."

"Right." Dean coughed and shifted the collar of his blue sweater awkwardly. "So even if he was in your class…you still wouldn't mind?"

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. His eyes were darting all over the place, but the one place they weren't looking at was at me. He was avoiding my eyes! "Dean, what do you know?"

"Nothing!" he answered immediately, his voice rising up again. I can't believe it. _Dean_ was actually nervous about something. He was actually _freaking out_. I wonder why-I've never seen him that…un-calm.

"Dean!" I hissed, "Tell me what's going on."

He groaned and bent closer to whisper to me. "Okay, but you can_not_ tell Alex. She said that he said he wanted it to be a secret. And she told me to keep it a secret. And she'll just kill me if she finds out I told you."

"What? Who told her he wanted it to be a secret? What secret?"

"She said you'd try to ditch work if you knew."

"Know _what_?" I was getting really frustrated with Dean and shook his shoulders to get him to tell me what the big secret was. "Just tell me!"

"Well…Chad decided that since he _is_ the new head lifeguard he should learn how to swim."

"That's the big secret?" I almost wanted to burst out laughing. Dean can be so trivial sometimes-what is he even so scared about? I can't believe he's _that_ upset of upsetting Alex. I mean, she's not…_that_ scary…is she?

Dean took a deep breath and let it out, talking in a much calmer tone now. "No. There's more. He decided to sign up for swimming classes." When I still didn't react, Dean continued, his voice wavering more and more with each word he spoke, "He decided to sign up for swimming classes…here. Like, in this pool."

He paused and waited to see how I would react, but I forced myself to give him a careless shrug like I couldn't care less, even though my heart was thudding louder than usual. I had a stinking suspicion what was coming next, but tried my best to deny it and think positive.

I forced a smile on my face, urging him to continue.

Dean shifted awkwardly in his seat and cleared his throat. "Right. And then he also decided he wanted to start today." I felt my eye twitch nervously, but I hoped Dean didn't notice it.

"Today?" Curse my octave-rising-squeaky voice. I cleared my throat and put on another phony smile. "That's _great_! The sooner he starts-the better!"

"Really." His tone was unconvinced, but he continued anyways. "And lastly, he decided to sign up for classes with…" _Please say you, please say you, please say you-_ "-you." _Damn it. _I guess you really do have to be careful what you wish for. I meant "you" as in you, _Dean_. Not "you" as in me!

It was like I was standing right in front of the canon, waiting anxiously for the load to fire-hoping it _doesn't_-and then even though someone had already lit the ignition, I was still standing in front of the canon, hoping something might happen to make the bullet not hit me. But then, of course, Dean's last piece of news was like the spark finally running out and then the bullet finally shooting out of the canon, hitting my stupid head with it.

I knew something was up the minute he started talking about Chad. I should've run right away. But what do I do? Stay and hope some piece of good news might come out of the boy's mouth. But of course, none came.

"Please don't get mad, Sonny," Dean was pleading, "Alex said you weren't supposed to know until he came."

My head shot up when I realized something. "Alex _knew_?" Dean cringed from my tone but I barely noticed his reaction. "That's why she wanted me to go to work so badly! I can't believe this. I thought she was my friend!"

"She thinks you should really listen to what Chad has to say," he said, but cowered back slightly when I glared at him furiously. "Chad called her last night and explained everything and she thinks-wait, Sonny! Where are you going? Don't go! She's going to kill me if you-"

But it was too late. My attempt at running away before Chad came was too late. I had hopped off the chair and was now running towards the exit when I made the mistake of pausing to look back and give Dean an apologetic smile. I collided with a hard wall as I turned back, and retaliated back; my arms flailing as I felt myself falling to the ground.

But the wall reached out its hands and helped me pull myself back up, before it steadied me carefully. Wait-hands? Walls don't have hands…

"You okay, Sonny?" Oh, for the love of-

I jerked my hands away just as I caught Chad's amused smile staring back at me. I scowled at him and crossed my arms over my chest to prevent him from reaching out to me again.

"Are you going somewhere?" His eyes sparkled mischievously and I cursed myself-and Alex. And Dean for not telling me earlier.

Stay calm, Sonny. Stay CALM. I have to let him know that he doesn't affect me at all, and I have to treat him nicely and politely like any other person. So I took a deep breath and smiled warmly at him. "No! I was just…throwing something out."

Chad nodded, like he completely understood, and crossed his arms as well. "So are you going to run all the way to Alex's gift shop to throw it out?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a garbage can over there." He nodded his head to where Dean was sitting and I noticed for the first time, that there was. I turned back to Chad and he looked at me expectantly for an answer.

"O-Oh…there was…?" I answered, feeling stupid. I peered around him to pretend I'm actually looking for a garbage can. "My mistake. I guess I didn't know there wasn't a garbage can here."

Chad gave me a look that said, "Uh-huh, I totally believe you" in a sarcastic way, and then said, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to go and throw something out?" There was a hint of a smile on his face and he motioned with his hands to go back to Dean. I groaned internally but grudgingly turned around and walked to the garbage can.

Great. Now I have to throw out something. I checked inside my duffle bag, but all I had in there were a towel, an extra swimsuit, my hairbrush, goggles, and my clothes to change into when I'm done. And my key to my room. I felt Chad's presence behind me, and I knew he was staring at me. So I quickly did another search of my bag before frowning and feigned sadness as I turned back to Chad.

"Oh, shoot. I guess I lost that piece of paper on the way here. Never mind then."

Chad looked like he was really trying not to smile as he pressed his lips together tightly. He glanced up at Dean, who was looking at me like I'd suddenly gone crazy. "So, Dean, is it okay if I borrow Sonny for a pre-class lesson first? You don't mind guarding the pool by yourself, right?"

"Of course not. I'd be happy to…" he trailed off when I shoot a look of death to him. Dean cleared his throat and pretended not to have seen it, before watching the people in the pool again. I was going to kill him. And Alex. And anyone else who planned this. I was going to kill them all.

"Great." Chad gave me a triumphant smile before holding out his hand for me to take. I was grateful for the shades I was wearing; it hid my eyes really well from everybody. I didn't want to see the panic that was rising up in me at the thought of teaching Chad for a _whole_ _hour_. And in the meantime, act like I didn't hate him at all at this moment. I was going to die.

I gave him a tight smile before reluctantly taking his hand, but only holding on lightly. Chad, on the other hand, was gripping my hand so tightly; as if he was really scared I would run away. Okay, so maybe I would, but would it kill him to loosen up slightly?

As soon as we were in the far corner of the pool, far enough that Dean wouldn't be able to hear us, I jerked my hand away from Chad and took off my glasses to give him a glare. "You couldn't have signed up for Dean's swimming classes?"

Chad chuckled and tried reaching for my hand again, but I backed away from him. "Moody, much?"

"Jerk, much?" I countered.

"Fair enough," he answered, and looked back towards Dean. "Dean doesn't have any swimming classes."

"Okay, so what about the rest of-" I sighed and muttered dejectedly, "There is no one else."

He smirked, like I'd just told him he was a god. "Exactly, my moody Sonny. So you're stuck with me."

I shook my head, still not believing this. "You didn't want swimming lessons before. Why now?"

"I took an interest in swimming, that's all." Chad blinked innocently, making me roll my eyes. He sighed, and sat on the edge of the pool, dipping only his feet in. He patted the ground next to him and motioned for me to sit. I did sit down, but it was like, two meters away from him.

Chad gave me a strange look, but I just shrugged casually and spoke to him without looking at him. "So what do you want to know in this pre-lesson?"

"Actually, I want to tell _you_ something." I knew it. I knew he was going to take this opportunity to apologize and make me listen to him and forgive him. And then later on, he'll do some other jerk-like action that will make me hate him again. I'm just not going to fall for it this time.

So before he could start speaking, I scrunched up my face, and pretended to be leaning in to listen to him. "What?" I called out loudly, cupping my ear, "Sorry, it's really loud in here. I can't hear you."

Chad smirked. "So why don't you come closer?"

I pretended not to hear that too. "_What_? Look, maybe we should talk later-you know, in a quieter place."

"Sonny, if I can hear you just fine, you can hear me too."

I stood up and slipped into my blue and white James Inn sandals before shooting a false apologetic gaze at Chad, who was eyeing me calmly. "Listen, I have to get back to my post with Dean. Maybe we can talk later, when the rest of the class is here…" I gave up trying to make up some lame excuse, because he probably already realized I was faking it. So instead, I just spin myself swiftly, and started walking briskly back to Dean without trying to make run or sprint.

I felt someone pull me back though, and I felt disappointed in myself. I wasn't even _close_ to where Dean was! I stifled a sigh before turning back to Chad with a cool expression on my face. "Oh, hey! If you want to join me, you can, but I really need to-"

"Enough." I winced slightly at his sharp tone. The tone triggered my memory of yesterday, when he spoke to me in a worse way, and his expression full of hate-no, stop. I shook that image out of my mind and focused on the present. "Please, Sonny. Let me explain."

Oh, how I hated those words. Those are the words that always somehow lead me back into his trap again. As soon as I willingly listen to his explanation, we become frenemies again and I forgive him, only to get crushed again later on. I hate, hate-_hated_-those words.

This sparked anger inside of me and I slapped his hand away. "No. I don't want to listen anymore. It's always like this. I always end up forgiving you, but you never change, Chad. You'll always end up doing something even worse to me. And yesterday…was the worst thing you've ever done to me. And you don't deserve any more chances. You don't deserve forgiveness this time. You don't even deserve an explanation. You don't-"

I was interrupted by him planting his mouth on mine, making me forget everything I was about to say. Any feeling of anger dissipated as he moved his lips against mine passionately. I stood frozen on the spot, not knowing how to react to this.

I remembered our closet kiss perfectly, but this kiss was different. It had a more desperate feel to it. He seemed to be thinking more clearly now that he wasn't drunk, but it was like he was kissing me to make me forgive him. Like I'd actually bend over everything I stood for just for one kiss. Like a kiss was worth all that.

I pushed him away roughly, and he stared at me in shock, like he didn't expect to kiss me. We both just stared at each other in silence before I finally came to my senses and slapped him. He didn't react to it. He didn't object. He just took it without a word and kept staring at me; his face unreadable.

"Our lesson starts in five minutes. Meet me here at that time and line up with the rest of the kids." I turned away so he wouldn't see my face, that was flaming and out of breath after the kiss. "Other than that, don't ever talk to me again."

He didn't reply. I didn't wait for him to.

I stormed back to my lifeguard chair and ignored Dean's questioning, curious glances. Peeking at the clock, I willed for time to go by faster. When will I wake up from this never-ending nightmare?

- OOO –

"Hey, Sonny!" I tried my best to muster up another forged smile as I greeted Bianca with a hug. After all, it wasn't her fault a three-named twit was mean to me.

"Hey! What's got you in such a good mood?" _And me in a bad mood?_ I added silently.

She shook her head, still all smiles and dimples. "Nothing." Bianca leaned in towards me and tugged me down to whisper in my ear. "Thanks for what you said yesterday. You were right."

"I was?" I asked, surprised. "Your sister is nice now?"

Bianca hesitated before answering. "Well…she's nic_er_. I mean, it took her a long time to apologize to me last night. But at least she did."

"Chelsea apologized to you?" I blurted without thinking. Shoot. She wasn't supposed to know that I know.

Her small blue eyes widened in surprise. "You know? Did you know all along?" Now she looked a little guilty and started fidgeting with her hands nervously. "I-I really didn't mean to be that bratty. Chelsea…thought if you couldn't take the job, you'd either quit or get fired. I was only doing what she said. I'm sorry."

"Don't look so ashamed," I told her, lifting her chin up to look at me, "Seriously. It's nothing. Let's move on to another topic…like Chelsea apologizing?"

"Right." Bianca tapped her finger under her chin and squinted her eyes as if thinking through this. "She came home last night looking really weird. Like, she was all calm and peaceful. I was sitting on her bed when she came on, spraying her perfume on my face-" Bianca blushed slightly as if she did this all the time, "-and usually, she'd get mad at me. But she didn't. She just calmly shrugged and sat down with me on the bed."

"Wow." I was really unable to believe this.

"Yeah, and then she apologized for calling me names and everything. She said she was just really upset at that time about Chad and you…I don't know. She told me she didn't mean what she said, and that I was a great sister. Then she went to her bathroom to take a shower."

"She _said_ all that?" My eyes were practically bugging out of my face. Bianca nodded and smiled at me.

"Yep. And it's all thanks to you." She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me.

I smiled, but gently removed her arms before crouching down to look at her. "I didn't do anything, Bianca."

"You believed it was going to get better, and it did." She was staring at me with a look of pure adoration shining in her eyes. It was like I had just given her the world. "You gave me hope, not to give up on my sister."

Honestly, I really didn't think I did anything. I mean, I wasn't even sure I believed what I was saying yesterday. I mean, Chelsea was a cow. But Bianca wasn't, and I didn't want her to be upset. So I said a bunch of random things I didn't mean, and now suddenly I'm a hero.

Bianca was waiting for me to say something, so I gave her a nervous smile and gave her ponytail a tug. "Er…okay then. You're welcome."

I told everyone to jump in the pool as more kids started to come. I giggled again when I saw Michael give Bianca a poke as soon as he saw her. She stuck her tongue at him before pushing him in the water again. They are just too cute.

I instructed them to do two laps of any style they wanted to warm up, but my mind wasn't on them today. I still didn't know why Chelsea did that. I didn't even say anything to her! The last time I spoke to her was when she was being all snob-like to me. How can she just turn from _that_ one minute into a perfect sister the next?

Well, not perfect…but still.

I wondered if it had anything to do with Chad. I figured since he wanted to _so _badly be alone with her yesterday, he must've confessed his love for her. So that was probably why Chelsea was so nice to Bianca. She had every right to be! Her one dream in life came true. If I were her, I'd be nice to everyone too.

_Why would Chad like a girl like her, anyways?_ I thought bitterly, and then immediately shaking that thought out of my head. I am not jealous. I am over Jerk Dylan Pooper. Wait…speaking of him…

I glanced around the pool casually as if I was just taking in my surroundings. He was nowhere to be found, though. I wondered if maybe he bailed? He didn't reply when I told him to meet me here in five minutes, so I guess he actually did leave!

Why do I feel so tense still though? I felt like any moment, he was going to show up and kiss me again. I don't know what I'd do if he did. I don't know if I even have the strength to push him away again. I knew if he came back and asked for an explanation again, I wouldn't be able to say no.

"Sonny!" I yelped in surprise at Bianca's close proximity and sighed in relief when I realize she had no Chad standing behind her or anything.

"Sorry, you scared me." I placed a hand to my heart and struggled to breathe properly again. I realized she was out of the pool, her whole body dripping wet. "Why aren't you in the pool doing laps?"

"Well, we called your name to tell you we were done, but you didn't answer."

"Oh." I finally noticed the row of kids, anxiously waiting for me to tell them what's next. My eyes flickered to the clock again. Only fifteen more minutes. I knew I'd just space out again if I tell them anything that involved me keeping an eye on them.

I just wanted to go home and get this over with so I waved an exhausted, airy hand to the kids. "Just do whatever you want for now. I'm not in the mood to teach."

I expected them to shout, "Hooray!" or something, but they just stared at me like I've gone completely mad. I sighed and picked up a ball and some flutter boards. I threw the ball at Michael and motioned for him to go on one side of the pool, and sent Amy to the other side. I divided up the rest of the kids like this too, purposely putting Bianca on Michael's team. Then after I explained the rules of the game, they started to really get into the game; swinging their arms and feet wildly as they tried to take the ball from each other.

I sat on the side and closed my eyes to try to calm my throbbing head that was getting worse with each thought of staying here.

What happened to my amazing summer that was supposed to be about earning money for college? I completely lost track of my goal here. That is very unlike me. I can't help but blame it on Chad. All of it was his stupid fault. Chad, Chad, Chad, Chad.

When everyone finally cleared out, and I finished cleaning everything up with Dean, I rushed out of the gates and ran all the way to my room, only stopping when I reached my bed. I ignored Alex's questions about my day and jumped on my bed face-down, letting out a frustrated cry into my pillow.

Stupid Chad Dylan Cooper.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Chad.

Stupid Chad.

* * *

_A/N: I can't stand the main characters of stories crying-well, unless it's something to cry about. And I know a broken heart is something to cry about, but I just admire the stronger-types better. Even though, Sonny's just a stronger-type on the outside. Still. She's not crying. _

_And have you noticed that Chad's kinda different lately? I think I'm trailing off his character…he seems more mature now (in his own way). Instead of egotistical and humorous in that vain-type of him. _

_Lol, kay review please._


	21. Listen to Me

_A/N: You know what I realize? The more drama there is, the closer it is to the end…lol, and it's kinda true. It's like the drama is building up to a happy ending. Wait, what is it with me and talking about drama? You don't care! Moviiiingg on…_

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**gleekers, Zillionz, LOVEandDREAMS, HP DIVA, XxXBlondeBabeXxX, Reemagirl, FranDS44444, AsphyxiatedSelfMedicated,**  
_and to my anonymous reviewers_ **ChannyIsBetterThanJemi () **_(wow, lol, the kiss reeally took away from the drama. lmao.),_ **lolz3 () **_(thats very intellectual of you. lol, but sonny can be pretty stubborn. but yeah, i hear where your coming from and i agree. i never actually thought of it that way),_

_And anyone else who reads. Thanks!  
_

_Disclaimer: I'm not saying it, you forgetful disclaimer…

* * *

_

20. Listen To Me

**SPOV:**

When I went to work the next day, my eyes immediately scanned the premises for any signs of the enemy (Chad). But for the first half hour, he was still nowhere to be found. I didn't want to ask Dean where he was because I didn't want it to seem like I was actually looking for him (which I was).

So I waited.

And waited.

And he didn't come.

My mind flashed back to the memory of his startled expression yesterday after he kissed me. It was like he didn't even mean to do it; like an impulsive move, sort of. What I didn't get was why he looked so surprised after doing it. So surprised…that he wouldn't come to work today.

After we closed today, I didn't walk straight to my room as usual. Instead, I took the path Alex took me to when I first came here. I decided to treat myself to some ice cream.

My head was hung lower than usual as I made my way to the little booth. The man gave me a smile and I told him what I wanted before paying him money. He took the money in exchange for my strawberry ice cream. I turned back the way I came for, but then stopping when I saw Erica behind me.

She gave me a little wave, smiling at me. "Hey, Sonny!"

"Erica!" I gave her a small hug. "I haven't seen you since the party. How are you?"

"Good, good." She asked the man for a chocolates-vanilla ice cream, and licked her lips before digging into it with a huge grin on her face. "Mhmm…thank god for this ice cream stand. I'd just die from work if I don't have this to escape sometimes."

I laughed. "Where do you work?"

"Hell," she answered bitterly, rolling her eyes. I laughed again and she pointed to the opposite direction I came from. I realized I haven't done much exploring of this hotel. I've only been inside my boundaries so far-work, employee rooms, gift shop to visit Alex, main lobby/entrance to bug Chelsea, Uncle James' office, and then the hotel parking lot/exit. I haven't been to this side of the campus.

I glanced in the direction she was pointing at, and saw some flying vehicle whoosh past us, making me gasp slightly, until I realized it was a rollercoaster. I didn't even know there was a rollercoaster park here! There were some signs that said, "Daycare Center" and "Lost and Found".

"See that park over there?" Erica asked, "I work in the children's area. You know that indoor playground stuff with the ball pits and everything?" I nodded, and Erica grimaced, "Well, I'm in charge of making sure the kids don't kill each other or drown in the balls. Like, really? They're plastic balls. How can you drown in them?"

"I choked once on one of them when I was seven."

"Well, not all kids are as brainless as you, Sonny," she teased. "Anyways, it's torture. The kids are all maniacs, screaming every time someone jumps inside the ball pit. Ugh. I get headaches all the time."

"That's how it started out with my job," I told her, "But then it all worked out. You just have to learn how to control them. I think I'm getting the hang of this job."

"Great," she remarked sarcastically, "You want to come and control my little devils next? Better yet, we should just switch jobs."

"Do you know how to swim?"

Erica hesitated before giving me a small smile. "For my sane purposes…sure."

I laughed again and threw out my empty ice cream cup. "No thanks. I actually like my job now." _With the exception of Chad_, I added silently, before giving myself another mental slap. I shouldn't be thinking about him. I. Am. Over. Him.

"Hey, we're throwing this party after work on Friday at the hotel water park. I mean, Paul and I figured, since we all needed a break and everything…why not? So do you think you can come?"

"At the water park?" I repeated, "Isn't that for guests only? Mr. Holman told us in the beginning-"

"Don't worry, we've got it taken care of," she assured me, "Mr. Cooper approved it."

"Wow," I said, impressed, "How'd you get him to approve it on a work day?"

Erica grew quiet for a moment, and when I tried to look at her, she avoided my eyes. "I've got connections…" she finally answered, in that same unusual tone Dean had yesterday. "But what does that matter? You'll be there, right?"

"Sur-" I stopped and looked at her straight in the eye. "Erica, are you sure that's why you're doing this?"

"What?" She asked innocently-a little _too_ innocently. I had a funny feeling in my stomach, telling me that there was something going on. Is everyone in the hotel in on a joke except me?

"Is there another reason besides needing a break that you decide to throw this party?"

"Yes-I mean, no. I mean…" Her eyes flickered nervously to the left and she sighed before giving me a frown. When she spoke next, her tone got all defensive and even stranger. "Why are you asking me so many questions? If you don't want to go then fine."

I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously, as she tried her best to avoid looking at me, while appearing offended and mad at the same time. "Is…_Chad_ going to be there?"

When she gave me a nervous chuckle, I knew this was all a plan. "N-No…"

"Ugh, I knew it!" I started walking away from her, but Erica pulled me back, begging me to come.

"Sonny, he asked me to do it. I'm sorry. Look, he just seemed really desperate-couldn't you just come and listen to what he has to say?"

I whirled on her; my eyes probably on fire right now. "I can't believe he told you!"

She winced slightly and twirled her hair nervously. "Actually…he told…all of us…?" She tried to give me a cheerful smile, but that only made me angrier.

"What do you mean 'all of us'?" I quoted.

Erica sighed. "Me…Paul…that's it." I was just about to sigh in relief when she mumbled quickly, "And Caitlyn, Evan, Chelsea, Julie, Ray, Alex, and Dean."

My eyes bugged out in alarm and my mouth dropped open. "What?"

I turned away from her again, stalking towards the dorms, without listening to her pleads for me to come to the stupid party. I just really couldn't believe this. What right does he have telling everyone our business? And what's with all this secret planning behind my back? Even _Alex_ was on his side.

First he gets me jealous, then he brings me home, then he flirts with me on his bed-almost kissing me-but didn't, and then he kicks me out rudely, then he has the nerve to show up in my class, then when I didn't want to listen to him he kisses me, then he stopped talking to me, and now he's planning some kind of arrangement to make me forgive him? Like hell I will.

I arrived in our room, slamming the door and locking it once I saw Alex wasn't there. Erica was knocking on my door, trying desperately to get me to let her in. I ignored her and plopped down on my bed again before crying out to leave me alone.

Stupid, stupid Chad. Who does he think he is? Planning stuff behind my back. I don't find it sweet at all he's going through all this trouble for me. No I do not.

_Yes you do, _a voice said inside my head. I slapped my head, trying to get it out of my mind.

I do not.

_Yes you do._

I do not.

_Yes you do._

I do NOT! Now, shut up conscience.

"Sonny!" I jumped off the bed in surprise at Alex's angry voice. "Let me in!"

I ran to the door to unlock it when I realized, with all the planning they've been doing without me, this could be another trick. I pushed the curtain aside and saw Erica standing behind Alex. Rolling my eyes, I put the chains on the door and shouted, "No, thanks, you traitor!"

I heard Alex scoff before pounding on the door again with rage. "I can't believe I forgot my key. Let me in, Sonny! Or I swear, you will never see the light of day again."

I gulped, knowing that with Alex's devious mind, you _really_ can't say no to her. But I was determined not to be brought into the trap. With the bravest voice I could muster, I called back, "You don't scare me, Alex."

"Sonny, listen to me. You misunderstood Chad-" Alex started, but I cut her off.

"I don't want to hear it, Alex! Just stop! I can't believe you guys are taking his side instead of mine."

"We're not taking his side," Erica piped up, "We're just trying to do what's best for you."

I huffed in frustration and climbed on the loft again to hide under the covers. The blanket I wrapped around me, mixed with the pillow on my ears, I was able to drown out their voices until I could only hear the faint thudding of my heart and my own little traitor conscience telling me that I was doing the wrong thing.

Gosh, even my _conscience_ doesn't support me! Wait, that doesn't really make sense. Of course they wouldn't support me…it's my conscience…doi.

After fifteen minutes later, I dug out of the covers and smiled in relief when I heard nothing. But just as I was climbing down from the loft, I heard a click, and the door creaking. I quickly ran inside the bathroom, locking the door while I did.

Even if Alex somehow got another key (probably from Chad), there was no way she could get inside. I chained the door and-

I heard a weird scraping sound, and I opened the door to see what was going on. There was a hand reaching inside to cut the chain with some wrench-scissor thing. I can't believe she went through all this trouble just to get inside. Alex _does_ know she has to pay for that afterwards, right?

Just as the chain came undone and fell to the floor, I slammed the bathroom door again and groaned when I heard the footsteps padding up the loft, halting in front of the door.

There was a slight hesitant knock, and then when I didn't reply, an even louder pound. I huffed in frustration and yelled, "Leave me alone, Alex! I don't care if I have to wait here until tomorrow. I'm not coming out until you leave." Oh shoot. I should've thought this through. I'm getting kind of hungry and I didn't bring anything, and I have to wait a whole day to-

"It's me." The irritated voice wasn't exactly the voice I wanted to hear at this moment, but I was curious to see why she was here. So I unlocked the door slowly and peered at Chelsea suspiciously. She was still wearing her uniform; her eyes rolling when she saw me. "Get out of there and talk to me!"

"Why should I?" I snapped, with the same hostile voice she used before. What was she doing here anyways? To gloat that Chad confessed his love for her and now they're going to get married in Iowa, and she's asking me to come to their wedding to give my blessings happily?

Chelsea sighed and sat on my bed without permission. This is why I don't believe Bianca when she said Chelsea apologized to her. Chelsea rubbed her forehead with her palm and groaned. "Why are you making this so hard? I didn't even want to come here."

"So go," I said simply, receiving an exhausted glare from her.

"Can you just come out of there and listen to me?" She snorted, her usual haughty smirk appearing on her face. "It's only me here. Alex, Erica, Chad…and the boogeyman aren't here."

I hated the way she thought I was immature. I mean, I was only a year younger than her…I think. I remember Alex telling me once that she and Chad were the same age. But I reluctantly came out of the bathroom and stood in front of her with my arms crossed. "What do you want?" I wanted to add, _here to brag about your new relationship with Chad?_ But I didn't. I don't know why I've been so petty lately. I've been acting so jealous and I don't even know why.

She stared at me for a moment, her eyes scrutinizing me like I'm under inspection. "I still don't see it."

"See what?"

"See what's so good about you," she answered with a smug smile, flipping her hair over her shoulder. I wanted to kick her out so badly, but there was something about the way she said that comment. It didn't have her usual spiteful vibe to it. It almost sounded like…she was teasing me.

When I didn't reply to that, only giving her a confused look, she frowned in annoyance. "Never mind. Look, just go to the party so I can leave already, okay?"

"Why do you all want me to go to that party so badly?" I paused and looked at her suspiciously. "Everyone's trying to get me to forgive Chad. Why do you want me to?"

"I don't," she replied hastily before giving me her signature sneer. "I actually prefer it like this. You know, you guys never talking to each other again. Hating each other for the rest of your lives. And you know, growing up and meeting different people. Carry on with your lives-_without_ each other. All the while, wondering, what could've happened if Chad didn't insult you and embarrass you that day. Or what could've happened if you actually went to the party and listened to what he has to say. But you'll never know, since you didn't go to that party. And you'll never have to see each other again. Oh yeah. I like it _much_ better like that."

She was right. I didn't expect her to be right about that. I didn't even think that far. I guess I was kind of planning to never speak to him again. But I hadn't thought of it that way. And now that I have, I knew I wouldn't be able to live with it. If I never had to speak to Chad for the rest of my life? I couldn't stand it.

Chelsea smiled coyly, "How about you, Sonny? Would you like it better?"

Stunned at her sudden change of expression, I shook my head slowly as I sat down on the bed beside her. Chelsea nodded before the smile disappeared off her lips and she was frowning again. "So go to the damn party! What are you so afraid of?"

I don't know what was wrong with me, but suddenly the words just started flowing out. "Of getting hurt again. He's never spoken to me like that before. Ever. I mean, it always seems like we hate each other but we never actually…_act_ like it. That day, he really looked at me like he hated me. And that's the worst thing of all. I can't stand him hating me. He always hurts me and he sometimes get mad at me, and I get mad at him and hurt him, but he's never hated me. And I've always forgiven him. But he always does it again. But it was always hurt and anger-never hate. That day…it was hate. And I just don't want to get hurt even more by forgiving him now, and getting hurt again later."

Chelsea was staring at me like she couldn't believe I had just told her that. To be honest, I couldn't believe it either. Of all the people I could've told, I told it to Chelsea.

"A relationship will always have pain," she answered, "But you can't just give up. If you really love him, you have to work hard at it and make it work."

Where did _that_ come from? My jaw dropped as I stared at her, unbelieving my ears. I guess Bianca was right after all. She was acting really weird.

The only thing I could utter was, "I-I…don't love him."

Chelsea rolled her eyes but didn't reply to that. "He doesn't hate you, Sonny."

"How do you know?" Why was she acting so nice to me? She wasn't even mentioning the fact Chad returned her love for him.

"Go to the party, and you'll find out." A tiny smile spread onto her lips and I really thought that she was genuinely being nice to me. "Please? He really is sorry."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I bit my lip and added quietly, "Is it because you've won Chad now?"

Her smile instantly dropped from her lips and she was giving me a frosty look again. "None of your business," she snapped, shooting up from my bed. "Just be at the party."

She reached my door and was just about to leave when she turned at the last minute to glare at me threateningly. "If you tell anyone I was nice to you," she warned, "I'll send you back to Wis-whatever."

Chelsea slammed the door shut, and I lied back down on my bed. For the first time in days, a real smile was perched on my face as I dozed happily off to sleep.

* * *

_A/N: You see, guys? Chelsea's human after all. Lol. _

_Oh and I just wanted to add one more dedication, to _**Barni**_, for helping me out :D__ Lol, you know who you are. And I posted it, by the way, as "All's Dare in Love and Soccer" so thank you for your help. I'll try to come up with a title for yours too. _

_Speaking of that...well, please check out my new original story on fictionpress, called "All's Dare in Love and Soccer". _

**Full Summary**_**: **__Erin Sanders is determined to get her reputation of being the "Queen of Dares" back for high school. But when a dare she did went a little too far, Erin has to make it up to the hot jerk-head captain of the guys' soccer team by being the team's manager. The problem is? He hates her with every fiber of his being. And though Erin feels like the feeling is mutual, it doesn't help her lack of knowledge in soccer. To make things worse, he turns out to be her partner for a very important project as well. How is she supposed to be a good team manager, manage her perfect "A" average in school, try and win back her reputation, while balancing her somewhat of a love life, and now, dealing with a hot jerk, all at the same time? But of course, all's dare in love and soccer. _

_The link is on my profile, but basically, I'm deadheart115 there too, so you could just search up my name.  
_

_Anyways, (in the tune of O.M.G.) Re-re-re-re-r-re-re-re-re…re-re-reee-vieeww-www…lol, that sucked. But yeah. _


	22. The Guy Who Punched The Wall

_A/N: Chapter 21. Wow! Already? Lool :D Time flies...sniff. We're near the end..._

_Firstly, I just want to say you guys are FREAKEN AWESOMEE! THANK YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH. THIS STORY'S REACHED 300 REVIEWS! EEEP! lol, that may seem small or insignificant, but I'm suuper excited, because a) it's my first time, and b) its FREAKEN LARGE TO ME! :ddd lol, so thank you sooo much and I hope that I'll keep supplying you guys with channy goodness in the future. So thank you!  
_

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**xmarkersarecoolx, A-Not-So-Bad-Ending, mcooper11, justbmm, xxjhopsterxx, Geekquality, Littleprincess0721**_ (lol, thanks so much. and im not one for making him a total softie either..but he has SOME softie moments...:P and dont stay up too late! my story isn't worth your tiredness afterwards. but thanks so much!), _**Angel-Hearts12, BahCo** _(thank you!),_  
_and to my anonymous reviewers, _**ChannyIsBetterThanJemi ()** _(weeell here's your 3rd shoutout. your welcome, and THANK YOU! i always give my anonymous reviewers dedication, since i can't reply to them any other way. so thanks again!),_** channy101 () **_(lol, thanks for being so impatient :P. and about the idea? there will be something like that, but ive already planned whts gonna happen long ago, so you'll see),_ **Natasha** _(thanks!),_

_And anyone else who reads. Thaaanksss youu! :D  
_

_Disclaimer: Oh just read.

* * *

_

21. The Guy Who Punched A Wall

**SPOV:**

_Splash!_ I shivered briskly when the cold water was sprayed all over me, before directing a forgiving smile at the boy who splashed me.

I really can't believe Alex convinced me to do this. Granted, it was pretty hard to escape that strong grip she had on me when she jammed me to the floor. For a small girl, she had a lot of upper body strength-not to mention her heaviness. I had to really strain myself to get out, and it was only because I agreed to go to the party.

To be honest, I didn't need a lot of convincing. Chelsea had already done the whole speech-talking part. She tapped into the emotional part of me. Alex preferred to use her physical strength. Anyways, by the time she realized the door was no longer locked, she had marched up to my bed and threw me on the floor so I wouldn't escape until I agreed to come today.

I guess she didn't know Chelsea beat her to it. But it was no use in explaining that to Alex. Besides, if you tried to hassle her, she'll feel compelled to fight right back.

"You can go now, Alex," I called out in aggravation, "I'm here now. I won't run away." I heard some footsteps jogging up to me, and before I knew it, she was right there beside me grinning widely. I felt a desire to roll my eyes at her, but held it back.

Sure. Now that my back hurts from the wooden floor, and my arms have red marks from her snake-like grip, she was all smiles.

"Sonny, you silly girl. I'm _supposed_ to be here. This is a party, remember?"

I spun her in the direction of the small café restaurant where the group was supposed to meet. "That's where _you're_ supposed to go. I'm going to the wave pool like you said Chad told me to meet him at."

She dug her heels on the ground and turned back to me. "How do I know you're not going to run away?"

"Oh for Cheese's sake, Alex!" I cried in frustration, before taking her by the shoulders to look her straight in the eye. "I will _not_ run away. I was already planning to come before you tackled me and physically threatened me to last night!"

"You were?" She said in surprise. Alex gave me a guilty look and shrugged. "My bad. I didn't know."

I raised my eyebrows at her and gave her a glare. She squeaked slightly before running to the café to join our other evil-behind-your-back-planning friends.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I pushed onwards and focused on the wave pool, trying to walk as confident as those models on TV. Except people were eyeing me weirdly, so I decided I'd just drop the act and walk normally.

The wave pool was pretty still right now; the sign read the next time it would break out would be in five minutes. I didn't really know if Chad wanted me to meet him _in_ the wave pool, or just _near_ it. But it looked pretty crowded already, so I decided to wait on the ground instead.

Some tables with umbrellas near the pool were there, so I decided to sit there to wait for him. I picked the shadiest spot and took out my cell phone, wondering if there were any missed calls I got from him. But it was only messages from Marshall about upcoming sketch ideas that he came up with.

I realized with a jolt that I haven't talked to my cast mates since the meeting. And I also haven't checked my phone messages in a long time either. I scrolled down the list, revealing messages from Tawni and Nico. I tapped my phone pointlessly to read the messages, though I know it's kind of too late to reply now. But I did anyways-to each one of them-and after that checked the time on my phone. Where was the boy?

If he stood me up, I'd be incredibly outraged right now. I didn't even want to come here in the first place! Alex was the one who forced me.

_Oh, please._

Didn't I tell you to shut up conscience? And what can I do? When I'm mad, I blame other people.

_You are pathetic._

So are you. Now shut up.

_You shut up._

No, you shut up.

_You._

You.

_Fine. I will._

Fine.

_Good._

Good.

_Good!_

Goo-wait a minute! What am I doing?

I shook my head rapidly before taking a deep breath to calm myself. This is ridiculous. I really am losing it. I can't believe I'm fighting with my own conscience (that happened to sound a lot like Chad) in the middle of a water park waiting for a jerk to apologize and explain things. I laughed out loud at my own ridicule. I should've never come here in the first place. I should've just stayed home and-

"Miss? Are you okay?" A man with beaming brown eyes was staring at me with concern. He had on the James Inn uniform for the water park. His name tag read, _Adam: Customer Service_. I can't help but get the creepy feeling that I know him from somewhere.

"Er…fine. Why?" I responded, squinting as the sun flashed intensely into my eyes. I couldn't see his face properly, and I was trying to get a better look at it to figure out what was so familiar with him.

He chuckled, and the sound triggered a memory of me falling into the water at night. I shook my head to clear that out of my mind. That was weird…"Well, you were laughing to yourself…and…"

He thought I was a loon. I completely understand. I was tempted to say, "I get this all the time" but that would make me seem even crazier. I think the sun was getting to me. "I'm fine."

"Do you mind if I sit here for my break?" He motioned to the seat in front of me and I shook my head. He grinned and sat down before holding out his hand. "I'm Adam."

"Sonny." I shook his head and blinked a few times to get a better look at him. My eyes widened slightly as I realized why he looks so familiar. His blond hair and thin structure reminded me so much of Chad. And I knew it wasn't just my mind messing with me. They really do look _that_ alike. With the exception of the eyes, of course. And his nose was just a slight bit pointier; and his chin jutting out a bit more than Chad's. And he didn't have as many smile lines. But he did have a bit. The point is, they look so alike, it was scary.

Adam widened his eyes and leaned closer towards me, examining my face. "Wait. Are you Sonny-as in Sonny _Munroe_?"

I blushed and nodded modestly. I was expecting this. I mean, wherever I go, people were bound to recognize me and hassle me about my celebrity life…

"Oh I've seen you before!" Well, there you go. And next he'll ask for my autograph…"You're this year's pool victim!" My smile fell instantly from my face. Chad is _really_ rubbing off on me. I can't believe I was that smug.

He was looking at me as if I _was_ a celebrity, though, so that's the upside. It took a while for his sentence to sink in, and I knew why his voice sounded familiar too. "Oh! You're guy number two!"

"E-Excuse me?" he stuttered, confused.

I laughed. "No, sorry. I meant, you were with Chad that day they pranked us."

"Oh. Yeah." He gave me a coy smile. "My victim was Natalie." I had no idea who Natalie was, but I smiled anyways like I did. But he saw right through it and gave me a knowing grin. "She's this really quiet girl who never talked to anybody. But when she got pranked that day, she lost it and blew out on everyone. It was hilarious."

"You were the one who complained about the buckets being heavy, right?" I recalled, remembering how Chad made everyone else carry the water because he was carrying me.

Adam nodded, chuckling to himself. "I can't believe you remember that."

I shrugged. "I have good memory." _Unlike some people, _I added silently, _where is that guy?_

Just as I darkly wondered if I should just get up and leave, I saw him. He was running towards me in the direction I came in, with a panic-stricken look on his face. I watched as he searched around the area and then breathing a sigh of relief when he didn't spot me.

"…but I just need a break, ya know? So I came out here." I realized Adam was talking to me about something and I smiled apologetically at him.

"I'm sorry; I didn't hear a word you said." He looked taken aback by my bluntness, but shrugged it off quickly. Adam opened his mouth to say something else, but I quickly cut him off. "I need to make a call. Just one minute."

"Sure. No problem. Hey! Nice phone."

"Thanks," I answered distractedly, keeping my eyes on Chad.

"I once had a phone like that, but I lost it. I was walking around here and on my break, actually. But then I got tired so I had to rest and then I saw a bunch of kids…" Man, Adam talks a lot more than me! I didn't have time to be polite to him, so I just zoned out as he continued rambling. Thankfully, he was babbling so much, he didn't even notice I wasn't paying attention to him.

I dialed Chad's number and watched as his hand reached into his pocket for his phone. I watched him look at the screen, his eyes widening, and then quickly answering it. "Sonny!"

"Hi." My tone gave nothing away, which is exactly what I wanted.

I watched him sigh in relief. "Hey, so uh…are you coming?"

"Yeah."

"Really?" I almost wanted to laugh at his joyful reaction, but then I reminded myself I was mad at him and remained passive. "So where are you? I'm here already at the pool."

"I know."

"I didn't _just_ come, by the way," he added quickly, "I…uh…I was waiting for you. Did Alex tell you where to meet?"

"She did."

"Okay. So I'll be waiting-"

"Chad." This guy was just too much. He had the nerve to invite me, show up late, and then try to trick me into believing he was here all along. "You're late."

"What?" His voice got all high pitched again, and he cleared his throat. "Pshh. No I'm not. Psh." I watched as he frantically looked around, searching for me. I ducked lower to the table and used Adam to hide me. Even though I was incredibly annoyed with him, I felt like giggling hysterically at the same time.

"Chad. I was here way before you were," I said calmly.

"No you weren't…psh…" He was still looking around and I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. Adam was looking at me strangely, but he continued his story nevertheless.

"I saw you run here," I told him. I watched him sigh.

"Fine. I'm late," he admitted, and then quickly adding, "I'm so sorry Sonny. My dad wanted to see me about-"

"Just get over here. I've been waiting for like, half an hour."

"Where are you?"

"With Adam."

He was walking towards me but halted immediately as soon as I said that. "With…Ad-_why_?" I heard a trace of jealousy in his voice, and I knew he was about to start his panic attack again. "Wha-Wha...y-you...Sonny! Adam...why...he...late..."

"Chad! Calm down!" I interrupted. I swear, I think he does this on purpose just to provoke me. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath, and spoke to him in a much calmer tone. "Just get over here."

"How am I supposed to know where you and _Adam_ are?" he barked sourly. I wanted to punch this guy. How dare he talk to me in that tone when I was the one who should be mad at him!

"Open your eyes and maybe you'll see us," I retorted, just as harsh. Before he could say anything else, I hung up the phone and waited for him to spot us. Unfortunately, Chad wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. I took a while for him to actually have the sense to keep moving and check in the waiting area we were in.

I heaved a sigh as I placed my hand under my chin. Adam was still yapping away about...well, I don't know. I think it had something to do with his sunburn that he got when he was seven or something like that. I was too busy directing angry thoughts towards Chad to listen to him ramble about being the worst chicken pox kid ever...or sunburns. I forgot which one he was talking about at the moment. Maybe both?

I was just about to tell him I really wasn't interested in his sunburn/chicken pox story when you-know-who came towards our table with a huff. Well...look who decided to show up.

Chad was breathing heavily; his nostrils flaring, and he had a crazed look in his eye that was surely meant for Adam, who was taking this whole thing so casually and clueless. "Chad! My man! Funny seeing you here. I was just having a talk with Son-"

"I know what you're doing," he answered unpleasantly, narrowing his eyes at Adam. "I don't need you to rub it in."

"But-"

"If you don't mind," Chad cut in smoothly again, "I need to borrow-actually, _take_-Sonny from you." He didn't even give either one of us a chance to reply as he grabbed my arm and dragged me far away from Adam, all the way near the washrooms, under a large shaded tree.

I yanked my arm away before rubbing it painfully. "Ow! Quit it!"

Chad still looked like he was ready to rip something out of a tree. His blue eyes were burning with rage, and I think one of them was twitching slightly. His hair was more dishevelled than usual, as if he'd been running his hands through it over and over again frantically. I could actually predict one of his veins popping from all of the fury he was bottling up inside.

"Why...were you with..._Adam_?" His tone was that menacingly calm tone again, but this time, I knew his anger wasn't directed at me.

I shrugged casually. "He just wanted someone to talk to on his break. Was I supposed to say no when he asked to sit down?"

"Yes!" Chad was practically shrieking, earning a few glances from people coming out of the washrooms. His already red and puffed up face was now even redder. I should show him some of the ads about controlling your blood pressure and everything.

"Well, at least he was _there_." I gave him a look that told him not to mess with me. "Unlike some people...who was supposed to be there and ended up half an hour late!"

"It wasn't..." He held up a shaking finger and gritted his teeth together. "...on purpose."

"Doesn't matter," I told him, "Adam was there, and you weren't."

"Don't-ugh..." Chad struggled to calm himself down, but he was really about to lose it and explode right there. I watched as he strolled around in a circle like a mad man, clenching his fists together. "Don't mention his...arrgh..." The teen star clutched his hair and did the notion of wanting to pull them out as he ran up to the tree we were standing under and bashed his head on it while crying out, "ARRRGHHHHHH!"

I was actually pretty proud of myself for taking all of this in calmly. Every time Chad tried to talk to me like a normal person would, he'd end up pacing around in circles again before ending back at the tree, whacking his head repeatedly over and over again. I just stared at him like this was normal behaviour for him. Which...for Chad, it probably is.

I gave him a bored look as he cried out again, having another tantrum. "I hate...Ad-ARRRGGGHHHH-stupid name of his. Ad-ARRGGHHH. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

"Are you done yet?" I deadpanned.

"Arrrgghhh! STUPID!" This time, he was pounding his fist against the tree, and was just getting ready to actually punch it, when I ran to him just in time to hold his arm back.

"Hey! Calm yourself!" I held his arm back, making him whirl on me with wild look in his eyes. "Chad what the hell is wrong with you?"

He was panting loudly, but the minute I talked, he immediately ceased his weird tantrums and listened to me. Finally, he slumped his back to the tree, probably exhausted. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

Chad looked ashamed of himself as he stared at me apologetically. "I...got carried away. I'm sorry."

I rubbed my arms as I crossed them over my chest and shrugged. "Just stop shouting out like that."

"No, I meant about-" he started, but was interrupted by Adam calling our names, holding my purse and waving it in the air with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey guys!" Adam called out, "Sonny! You forgot your purse. I just thought I'd bring it back to you."

Uh oh.

I risked a glance at Chad and immediately wished I didn't. He was glaring at Adam, and it was like his eyes were actually shooting bullets through Adam's body. All Chad was staring at was Adam. It was like he was so focused to kill him...or hurt him...

Oh shoot.

"Chad! Don't!" But it was too late. He had already lunged for Adam and was throwing punches at him. It was a good thing Adam knew how to hold his ground, or he'd be dead by now. By the look on Chad's face, I think that was his intention. He was about to throw one really strong punch, but thankfully, Adam ducked just in time.

Not so thankfully, Chad's hand went straight to a wall.

My eyes widened and I ran to him. He was staring at the wall now, with the same look on his face, as if Adam had somehow morphed into the wall. Chad didn't move his hand, but I saw blood spearing out of it, and a cracked dent formed on the wall.

"Chad...?" I asked hesitantly. It was like hearing my voice broke him out of his spell. He pulled his bleeding hand back and turned to Adam again, who was on the ground, staring at Chad in fear and amazement-like he had no idea Chad could be that vicious.

Chad wasn't even looking at his hand-not showing any emotion of pain-as he tried to kill Adam again. I held him back this time, blocking his way. He shot me a look to move out of the way, but I pushed him back until he stumbled slightly.

Amazing that he's all manly and everything to Adam, but lets me push him back and control him.

"What is wrong with you?" I grabbed his hand and surprisingly, he didn't protest. He wasn't even looking at me. His eyes were all focused and centered on Adam. "Chad. _Chad_! Can you stop? Adam didn't do anything wrong."

He was still breathing heavily, and his face was all red in the face. He still looked like he was about to have another go at him. I slapped him lightly across the face. Chad's eyes reluctantly peeled off Adam's and stared into mine. "Listen to me. _Adam didn't do anything wrong_."

Chad slowly, but surely, widened his eyes as he took in what I'd just said. Then his face paled and he looked like he was ready to pass out, but then he rubbed his face with his hands, and staggered towards Adam.

"Oh...man...I'm...Adam...I..." Chad tried to help Adam up. "I-I...don't know what's wrong with me. I-I'm so sorry, dude. I..."

"It's okay," Adam answered, with his easy going smile, "I won't hold it against you." His eyes flickered to me and he leaned in to Chad to whisper something, making Chad chuckle a bit.

"I'm not sure about that," I heard Chad mutter, making Adam's face lit up. "Are you sure you're okay, man?"

"I'm fine." Adam pointed to Chad's hand and laughed. "Look. You're the one that's bleeding. I don't have one scratch on my body. Well, I have to get back to work. Later, guys." He slapped Chad's shoulder in that guy-kind-of way, and headed off to the other direction after waving at me.

Chad just stood there, stunned at what he just did. He watched Adam walk away, and his shoulders started to droop the longer he stood there. I realized he was also swaying a bit, until his knees buckled and he started to fall. I quickly ran to him and supported his side before he reached the ground.

He quickly regained consciousness and shakily stood up. "I'm fine, thanks," he mumbled, closing his eyes to calm down.

"I think you should get this checked. Is there like an infirmary or something?" I looked around the park, but I couldn't spot any signs for medical help.

"It's not in this park." He took my arm and led me to the exit to find the infirmary. I followed along, surprised by me being so nice to him when I should just treat him with hostility and unfriendliness, not caring at all about his hand.

We stopped walking once we were outside the park, near the ice cream stand I went to yesterday. Chad turned left, in the opposite direction of the stand, and we came upon another pathway that led to a small shack-like structure that read, "Medical Centre".

We pushed the door open, a bell ringing to acknowledge our presence, and Chad didn't even bother waiting in the sitting room. He pulled me straight to the back, where the nurse was treating a patient. She was pretty young for a nurse, probably in her mid-twenties.

The nurse looked up when she saw Chad and greeted him with a smile. "Chad! What are you doing here?" Her eyes travelled to his hand and she winced. "Let me take care of that after I'm done with this patient."

Her patient was a little girl about the age of six, who scraped her knee. The nurse wrapped a bandage around it before sending her off with a lollipop in her hands.

Chad took a seat once she left and held out his hand. "I…fell."

The nurse gave Chad a knowing look, before turning to me. "What really happened?"

"He punched the wall," I answered like the snitch I was. Chad gave me a horrified look like tattle telling was the worst thing I could've done.

"Don't tell my dad, Carla," he begged to the nurse.

Carla shook her head, clicking her tongue. "I can't do that. He told all his staff to tell him if something ever happened to you." She started treating his hand before she paused and stared at him. "Was there a dent in the wall?"

"No," Chad answered at the same time I said, "Yes."

Carla's eyes flickered to me and gave Chad a smirk. "I trust your girlfriend more than you."

"I'm not his-" I started, but Carla got up and interrupted me.

"I'm going to treat the other patients now," she said, "Just rest here for a while. I'll use the other room." She left the room without another word, leaving me with a very irritated-looking Chad.

Chad twirled his hand around for a moment while I looked around the room. It was filled with mostly advertisements for James Inn, than posters of medical stuff, like a normal doctor's office would. I sat down beside Chad again and took his hand gently, inspecting the damage.

I could feel his eyes on me, but I pretended to be too busy examining his hand. I didn't want to look at his face and forgive him already, but I knew that I would end up forgiving him someday…even if he was with Chelsea now. I'm just not the type of person who holds grudges.

"What are you thinking?" he murmured.

I still didn't meet his gaze, but I replied with, "How much money you'd need to repair the wall dent." So that was a lie, but Chad wasn't exactly Mr. Truthful either.

Unfortunately, he was a better at lying than I was, and he saw right through my lie. Chad sighed and took his hand away before using his good hand to touch my face to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," he told me, staring deep into my eyes.

"For which time?" I asked, half-joking, half-serious.

I expected him to joke back but he was dead serious when he spoke. "For everything. For not being grateful and nicer to you in the wedding reception. For being rude and then kicking you out. For being late today. For getting mad at Adam for no reason. For punching him and probably scaring you. For punching the wall. For gripping your hand too hard. For kissing you again at the pool. For making you upset. For signing up for your swim class even though I know you'd just get even madder. For not being able to swim. For using that as an excuse to enter your swim class. For-"

"Okay," I cut in, laughing. "I get it."

He flashed a quick crooked smile but it disappeared as fast as it came. "Sonny, you're stubborn."

Wow. Thanks. That's the perfect apology, Chad. "Uh…"

"I meant, I knew you wouldn't leave if Chelsea wanted you to stay. I knew you'd just make it your _duty_ to annoy her and stay anyways. I had to get you to leave so I-"

"I know. You were rude to me. And it worked. I did leave." I paused and added quietly, "I know you just wanted to have some time alone with Chelsea to confess your love for her."

"_What_?" I snapped my head up when he started laughing hysterically. I frowned at him, not knowing whether to join in, or get mad again. I had no clue what he was laughing at. Finally, he calmed himself down and took a deep breath. "You thought…me and Chelsea…_what_?"

I blinked, utterly confused. "Isn't that why you kicked me out?"

"_No_!" he chuckled slightly and wiped his forehead. "I wanted some time alone with her to tell her…I…" Chad paused, taking in my expectant expression and smirked, "…_don't_ love her. Stupid."

My eyes widened, and despite what I told my brain to refrain from, I couldn't hold back the smile that crept up to my lips. "Really?" I squeaked.

"Yes, really," he answered, still smirking, "Why would you think-" Chad frowned and a line formed in the middle of his forehead when he furrowed his brows. "Wait. Did Chelsea tell you something?"

"No, it was just my own imagination." I remembered Chelsea's snappish behaviour yesterday when I asked her about Chad. So I guess that was why she reacted that way. I'm actually surprised. I thought being rejected would only make her even meaner. But I guess if you're already _that_ mean, there's nowhere else to go but down.

Chad nodded. "Of course it is." He grinned at me, wiggling his eyebrows a bit. "We really have to talk about your _jeaaalousy_. It's making you so vicious. You need to tone it down a bit."

I scoffed. "Says the guy who punched a wall just because someone wanted to return my bag for me."

"I was just looking out for you," he replied defensively, "It could've been a trick or something."

"Whatever."

Chad smiled and held out his hand for me to shake. "So am I forgiven?"

I bit my lip, hesitating. I was so convinced that I shouldn't forgive him again. I made a promise to myself that I would simply detach myself from Chad Dylan Cooper permanently. But Chelsea's voice echoed in my mind, _A relationship will always have pain. But you can't just give up. If you really love him, you have to work hard at it and make it work._

With that thought ringing clear in my mind, I shook his hand. "You're forgiven," I answered, but added quickly, "But tell me something."

"Shoot."

"Why'd you kiss me that day in the pool?" I asked, still a little curious about that, "And why did you look so shocked?"

His eyes instantly dropped from my face and he looked really embarrassed. He pulled his hand back from mine and started to fidget with it. "That was…I'm sorry. It wasn't the right time to kiss you."

"I thought you did it because you thought I'd forgive you if you did. Was that why?" I was reluctant to ask this question, but I really needed to know the truth from now on. I held my breath, waiting for his reply.

Chad took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "No," he finally answered, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "It wasn't that…"

"Then why?"

"I-" His phone suddenly buzzed and I watched him quickly answer it, probably grateful for the release. I crossed my arms in annoyance as he talked to whoever was on the other line. "Hey. No, we're in the infirmary…long story. Now?" Chad checked the watch on his wrist and nodded to himself, even though the other person on the other line wouldn't see it. "Fine. We'll meet you there in ten. A'ight. Bye."

He hung up the phone, slipped it into his pocket, and grabbed my arm, dashing out of the infirmary. We walked to the direction I came from this morning, but instead of turning to my room, we headed to the exit of the hotel.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"We're going to meet the others at _Billy's Big Burgers_." Chad slowed down his pace once we were out of the hotel. I think it was because he didn't want his dad catching him or something. "Dean said they were hungry, and in the mood for Billy's burgers for dinner."

"Oh." So that's who he was talking to. "So Chad, what were you saying?"

"About?" I knew he was avoiding the subject on purpose, because he wouldn't even look at me when I asked him that.

I sighed in exasperation. "The kiss. Why'd you kiss me?"

"Oh…that…" Sometimes I really, _really_ wanted to slap him. He stopped walking abruptly, making me crash into him. He turned around with a mischievous glint in his eye, and it was like those blue eyes of his just had a bright idea. His whole face suddenly lit up. "Let's have a race."

"What?" I looked at him as if he'd gone crazy.

"First one to the restaurant gets to ask the loser whatever question they want to know, and get a truthful answer." His eyes held a challenge that I didn't want to back out of. As if he suspected that, Chad grinned. "Ready? _Go!_" He didn't wait for my response and ran off without me.

"Hey!" I quickly started running, catching up to him eventually, and trying to push him out of the way. He tripped slightly, making me laugh. It's not so easy to run when you're laughing that hard.

We ran down the path happily, and even though the point of a race was to try and outrun one another, I felt like we were running together somehow. Running away from the past. Even though I've already said I've forgiven him, I think the race was my true forgiveness to him.

* * *

_A/N: I am so tired of this chapter. I got a somewhat writer's block again for this chapter. And well, that's why it sucked. And don't say it didn't, because it did. (especially you, Charles) So sorry for that. _

_Chad was OOC too when he punched the wall. Lol, I guess I liked him all caveman like and uncontrollable of his feelings because of Sonny and stuff. _

_Anyways, review, but don't be too harsh! :( sorry again for the suckish chapter. _


	23. Thanks A Lot, Karma

_A/N: Almost there...  
_

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**sonnywithachancelover, Sexychad-sonny, Sorrel14, Littleprincess0721** _(your welcome. but the actual confession is in this chapter, so we'll see how sweet he gets), _**XxXBlondeBabeXxX** _(huh. thats weird, you totally read my mind. lols, thats exactly what happens.), _**Sonny112**,  
_and to my anonymous reviewers,_ **RM** _(thank you, but i just hated the part where he punched the wall),_ **lolz3** _(thank you, but all good things must come to an end...lol),_ **CHANNY LOVER**_ (loool, i think you ARE weird, but that's okay. so am i. and thank you soooooo much. that was a very long and sweet review. lmao, i love your rambling. so thank you, and lols, actually, its flipped around. if YOU go to a mental hospital, you'd see ME. :P i'm a little crazy and weird. i get my creativity from...movies? stories? lol, iunno? like every writer's inspiration comes from-everywhere. thank you again!),_** ChannyIsBetterThanJemi**_ (i love you too! lol, all my reviewers :D thank youuu),_

_And anyone else. :D You guys rock.  
_

_Disclaimer: Onnysay Ithway Away AnceChay isway otnay inemay.

* * *

_

22. Thanks A Lot Karma

**SPOV:**

We arrived in front of the restaurant both out of breath and panting. Chad stopped and placed his hands on his knees before glancing back at me with a grin. "I win," he boasted.

I gave him a sly grin before walking casually in front of him, leaning down to imitate his hunched over position. "Actually, the deal was, whoever reaches the restaurant first." I started moving backwards subtly towards the front door. "Technically, we're not in the restaurant. We're outside it. So…" I quickly ducked inside the doors before he could stop me and stuck my tongue out at him. "…I win!"

"Hey!" he took one staggering step towards me but realized it was no use anyways. I'd already won.

"Too bad, suckaaa!" I made my voice rise into a high-pitched tone at the end, like he always did, and gave him the peace sign with my fingers.

He frowned and shook his head before pushing the doors open, giving me a bored look. "You're so immature." Chad pushed past me with a pout on his face, making me want to burst out laughing.

"Me?" I called after him, skipping along beside him. "You're the one who wanted to race. It's not my fault I win. I win! I win! I win!"

He whirled around and placed a hand over my mouth, giving me a sullen look. "You're embarrassing me."

I wiped his hand away and gave him an "Oh, please" look. "Somebody's a sour loser. And you don't need my help in embarrassing yourself, Chad."

He opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it and pulled my hand to meet our friends. "Come on." Our friends were all the way in the corner, sitting in a _really _large table. I was impressed they'd actually managed to get that big of a table when I realized they had pushed two smaller tables together to fit us all.

I waved to everybody-Erica and Paul, Julia and Ray, Caitlyn and Evan, Alex and Dean, and…Adam? He was sitting beside Dean, chatting animatedly away with him, while Dean was looking more and more uncomfortable. I wanted to burst out laughing, but I knew that would be rude, since Adam was really nice and a fun person to be with…if you had enough patience to overlook his talkativeness.

Chad headed straight to Adam and did that guy-handshake thing with him, apologizing _again_ for trying to fight him. He grabbed a chair and sat down with Dean and Adam, completely leaving me to fend for myself. Well, thanks, Chad.

I pushed aside my irritated thoughts of him and joined the girls. It was like all the guys were on one side of the table, and all the girls were sitting across from them. I sat at the corner, beside Alex, and almost laughed to myself to see Chad across the table from me, now in between Adam to his right, and Dean to his left. I had Alex to my right and the seat beside me was empty, but Alex told me the person had to go to the washroom.

"Alex," I hissed, "Who arranged this seating?"

"What?" she asked distractedly, and then immediately laughed at something in front of her. I turned to Dean and saw him was making faces at her, mocking Adam who was talking to Chad energetically, not even taking a breath in between his sentences, and Chad looked like he wished he really _had_ hit Adam instead of the wall.

I exhaled sharply and whispered in a lower voice, "Alex, stop making googly eyes at Dean and listen to me for a second."

She instantly snapped her attention to me and blushed. "I-I don't like him in that way."

I smirked. "Didn't say you did, but thanks for telling me."

Her face got redder and she looked down at her plate. I was about to tap her again when she suddenly lifted her head and glared at me, her usual Alex-personality coming back to her. "Hey, I'm not the only one in denial, Sonny. You and Chad?"

"What?" I scoffed, willing my cheeks to stay pale, "I don't know what you're talking about." Before she could respond, I told her, "Was this seating arrangement on purpose?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look." I motioned across the table at all the couples sitting across from each other. "Every couple is sitting across each other."

Her eyes widened as if she just realized that, and she cast an appalled look at Dean. "That's ridiculous. Dean and I aren't a couple. And neither is Adam and-" She abruptly stopped speaking as if she'd almost let something slip out.

"Adam and who?"

"If I tell you now, you'll try and escape," she told me plainly, and then turning back to the menu she'd gotten in the middle of our conversation.

"Why?" But Alex completely ignored me, staring intently at her menu. It must be someone I really hate if she thought that I'd get mad at her for putting me here. But I honestly can't think of anyone I hate that much. Well, except for Chelsea. But I'm sure she won't be here-wait.

I whipped around to Alex and studied her face. She seemed like she was making a _really_ big attempt to avoid looking into my eyes. And as I looked around the rest of the group, I realized what an idiot I've been-coming to this side of the table. This whole thing _was_ arranged!

I knew Erica couldn't stand Chelsea-that's why she's the last person on the other side, with Paul across from her. But why would _I_ be the one who has to sit next to her?

Wait. What am I saying? It might not even be Chels-

"Alex!" A squeal came from my left and I closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer to God: _Please don't let it be Chelsea. Please…_ "My makeup wasn't running. Did you guys order yet?"

I felt someone take a seat beside me, and I turned to find dazzling, but shocked, green, emerald, eyes staring back at me, surrounded by a frame of dark, fiery, red-auburn hair. "No. You're just in time." I tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but it was hard.

Chelsea gasped and pushed me back to get Alex's attention. "You set me up!" She pointed an accusing finger at Alex, who acted naturally, like she did nothing wrong.

"I _thought_ I saw a smear under your eye," she answered calmly, "I didn't know. Sorry."

Both Chelsea and I glared at Alex, who sank deeper into her seat and buried herself in the menu, muttering to herself, "Oh this looks good. You guys should start ordering."

"Thanks a lot, Alex," I hissed at her, "You just betrayed me _twice_ this week."

She sighed and put down her menu before patting Dean's arm. "Tell her that it wasn't my fault."

"What?" He wasn't even paying attention to our conversation, but when Alex gave him a deadly glare, he immediately choked out, "It's not her fault, Sonny," and added quietly, "Whatever 'it' is."

I laughed but frowned when Alex started to smile too. "Some friend you are."

"It was for your own _happiness_," she stressed out the word like she was talking to some kindergartener. Alex gripped my arm gently and squeezed it a bit. "I'm sorry, okay? But look how happy you and Chad are now!"

I gave her a sideways glance and she added hastily, "As friends…or frienemies. Or whatever you are."

"Fine. You're forgiven." Wow, I had to forgive a lot of people today. I hope this counts in the future if I ever need forgiveness…you know, karma and all that. I hope it'll be on my side when I need it.

"You guys are so pathetic," Chelsea remarked, making me turn to her with a glare. "Who cares about Sonny's happiness?"

I was about to say, "You," but I remembered she didn't want anyone to know she came to my room yesterday. So instead I answered with a sweet, "Chad," just to see her annoyed expression again. My eyes flickered quickly to Chad, but thankfully, he wasn't paying attention to me-still caught up in Adam's never ending rant.

I expected her to blow up like usual, but all she said was, "He's an exception," and shrugged casually before turning back to her menu.

"Wow. I'm impressed. I expected you to blow up or something again." I commented her, giving her a genuine smile this time. "You've really changed. I'm proud of you."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes at me but stopped instantly when Chad turned around to us. Her frown was instantly replaced with a bright smile as she waved at Chad. "Hi, Chad!"

He grinned back at her and I felt a pang of jealousy and turned away in annoyance. Chad _was_ right. I really need to control my jealousy, because I know once I get too jealous, I won't be able to control my moods around her again. It's just…he's never really given me a genuine smile like that. How could he still stay friends with the witch after everything she's done?

Speaking of the witch…

I glanced at Dean, who was staring at Alex like he was under her spell. He wouldn't even take his eyes off her when she got up to go the bathroom. I remembered our bet was supposed to be if I called Chelsea a name out loud, and though I like to win competitions, I decided my friend's happiness was much more important.

I shifted to Alex's seat and leaned waved at Dean, who looked up at me in surprise and a little bit of guiltiness was shown on his face, like he'd just been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. I wanted to laugh at him. Guy's are so typical-they're always scared of showing they're true feelings.

I decided to get straight to the point. "Chelsea's a witch."

"What?" he cupped his hand around his ear, trying to hear me above the loud chattering of the others.

"Chelsea's a witch," I told him, a little louder this time.

"What? Sonny, speak louder!"

I sighed in frustration, but repeated what I said, cupping my hands over my mouth, yelling, "Chelsea is a _witch_!"

Unfortunately, I shouted that one a little _too_ loudly, and Chelsea stopped flirting with Chad to give me an irritated look, like I couldn't possibly more annoying. Everyone else ceased their conversations and turned to look at me in shock.

I felt the blush creep to my cheeks and Dean pressed his lips together, looking sheepish.

Erica was the first to speak. "Ouch, Sonny."

"I-I…Chelsea, I didn't…you don't understand…" I stammered nervously, trying to do damage control. She huffed at me, narrowing her eyes, before marching off to join Alex in the bathroom.

As soon as she left, Dean burst out laughing, making me kick him under the table. "Thanks a lot, Dean."

He clutched his stomach and laughed even harder. Chad frowned at me and shook his head, clicking his tongue slightly. "What did I say about your jealousy?"

My mouth dropped open and I stood up, nearly knocking down my chair. "I was _not _jealous!" Chad gave me a look and I added, "Okay, so I was a little. But that's not the reason I called her a witch."

At this, Dean's laughter faded away and he stared at me in confusion. "But…what other reason-"

"I lost," I interrupted, a slow smile spreading on my face, "That means you won."

"Yeah, but-"

In the corner of my eye, I saw Alex exiting the washroom and was heading towards our table. I paused for a few more seconds until it was…just…the right…time. "If you won, I had to get you a date with someone." Alex had reached our table now, but she stopped and gave me a strange look. I grinned mischievously, and turned back to Dean, who had by now noticed Alex standing there, and his eyes widened.

He mouthed, "No!" to me, waving his arms for me to stop, but I continued.

"Is that 'someone'…" Dean stood up and reached across the table to cover my mouth, but I just leaned away from him and said triumphantly, "_Alex_?"

Dean bolted back to his seat, slapped his forehead, and tried his best to hide his face as everyone in the table turned to him. I think I even saw him blushing. Even Chelsea, who had by now returned from the bathroom, gaped at him in shock.

Alex just stood there, frozen, and embarrassed.

I smiled proudly at my job well done and got up from my seat to drag Alex to Dean. She didn't object, since she was still in shock. I tried to pull Dean up from his chair, but he was too heavy. Chad caught my eye, winked, and helped me pull Dean. Together, we brought the lovely couple to the exit of the restaurant, pushing them forcefully to get them to talk outside, and take a nice afternoon-well, by now it was evening-stroll together.

"Have fun," I sang, calling over my shoulder and skipped back to the table with Chad, giggling to myself.

But I broke off as soon as Chelsea sat down, quirking her eyebrow at me. I cleared my throat and turned to her. "Chelsea, I'm sorry. It was me and Dean's bet, and I didn't mean it." _Not _that_ much_, I added silently.

She waved her hand airily and gave me a yawn. "Whatever. Like I care what you losers think of me." She turned back to the menu, and asked Adam, "Which one did you say to order again?"

Even though it was sort of an insult, coming from Chelsea, I took it as Chelsea being nice. I guess that was her way of forgiving me. So we're getting somewhere.

"The Super Billy Willy Burger," Adam answered right away, "It's _delicious_."

"Super?" Chelsea wrinkled her nose. "I might not be able to finish it."

"I'll split it with you," he offered. I was expecting her to say no and make a disgusted face at him before running away from the restaurant, but apparently, I underestimated Chelsea.

She pursed her lips for a moment but nodded. "Sure. But I want a pudding dessert afterwards."

"I'll pay for that," he suggested eagerly. What was wrong with Adam? He turned from super vibrant to _really_ super-duper vibrant around Chelsea.

Chelsea nodded again before putting away her menu. "Thanks." It wasn't a friendly tone or anything, but at least she said it. I mean, she didn't seem the type to be able to thank someone. But I guess with Adam, you can even make Chelsea be nic_…er_.

I stared out the windows, having a sudden urge to go outside and listen to what Alex and Dean are saying to each other. The more I thought about it, the more I really needed to know. Before I knew it, I had gotten up from my seat, and snuck away from the table. Nobody even noticed me.

Well, almost nobody. I was just outside the restaurant, when I heard the doors creaked. I turned around to see Chad, giving me a curious look. "Why did you follow me, Chad?"

He stared at the ground now, trying to look nonchalant when he muttered, "I…didn't want you to get lost again."

I smiled and stepped closer to him, tilting my ear towards him. "What?" I asked, pretending I didn't hear.

"You heard me," he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

I laughed. "I'm planning to follow Dean and Alex. Were you worried about me?"

His eyes darted everywhere, avoiding my face, while I just stood there, grinning like an idiot. Chad coughed before he rolled his eyes. "Stop looking at me like that." I didn't stop though, and only smiled wider and he sighed, pushing past me.

When I didn't follow him, he turned back and called out, "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to follow them?"

"No. Not until you admit you were worried."

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to follow them-not me." He smirked and added, "We could wait here all night, Sonny." I pouted, giving him my best puppy-dog face and he sighed before muttering quietly, "I was worried about you."

I knew I won't be able to get him to say it any louder than that, so I skipped happily to him and patted his arm contently. "Thank you. Now, come on!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him down the path we sent Alex and Dean to.

We turned around a corner, but snapped back when we saw them only a meter away from us. We crouched behind a bush and peeked out silently from the corner, waiting only until they've passed the other turn to catch up to them again.

They arrived at a beach, and we waited until they were stationary before we came out of our hiding spot to get closer. Alex and Dean sat down on the sand and were laughing and murmuring something to each other and to me, they looked all couple-y.

I motioned to Chad, who was crouched behind me, to move closer. But as I took one step, I accidentally stepped on a twig, cracking it in the process. Both Chad and I froze, hoping they didn't hear it. Thankfully, they were too busy being mushy to realize two stalkers right behind them.

I let out a breath of relief and Chad took me by the shoulders to turn me to him, putting a finger to his lips. "Shh," he whispered.

I slapped his hand away. "I know, it was an accident," I whispered back.

"Well, accident or not you should still be very quiet," he spoke softly.

I covered his mouth with my hand and glared at him. "Look who's being loud now!"

He moved my hand and covered _my_ mouth with his hand. "You are! So shut up."

"You shut up." I slapped his mouth again.

"No you." He slapped my mouth again.

"You." Slap.

"You." Slap.

"You." Slap.

"_You_!" Sla-

"Both of you shut up!" We both froze and turned to see Alex shaking her head at us furiously, her hands on her hips. Dean was looking really amused in the back, but he glared at us as soon as Alex turned to him.

I smiled sheepishly at both of them while Chad chuckled nervously. "Heeey…guys!" I greeted them. "Funny seeing you here. Right, Chad?" I nudged his stomach with my elbow and he let out a grunt.

"Oof. Er…right." He draped his arm around my shoulder and helped me get out of the bushes. "Were you guys f-following us or something?" He let out a really phony laugh and squeezed my shoulder.

I joined in, laughing jocularly, but it faded as soon as I saw they're questioning faces. I cleared my throat and tugged on Chad's sleeve. "So…we'll just…"

"…go…" Chad finished for me, pulling me by the arm before dashing further down the beach, running along the shoreline, until we reached the dock, where a few sailboats were parked on the lake.

I panted slightly but let out a relieved breath, but I saw Chad's exhausted and puffy face, it came out as a shaky laugh instead. He glanced up at me before giving me a slow, fervent grin. "Why do you always get me into these situations, Munroe?"

I couldn't answer him. I was too busy clutching my stomach at his expression. He just looked so tired, his face all red and puffy. I mean, this guy seriously needed to work out more. Before I knew it, he started laughing along with me, and both of us were cackling hysterically.

Chad was the first to calm down and I took a long deep breath before letting out contently. "Didn't you have a question to ask me?"

"Oh, yeah," I answered, still smiling, but was more controlled this time, "Why did you kiss me?"

He reached over and ruffled my hair in a teasing way before pulling me under his armpit, and held me tightly in that hold. He whispered near my ear and blew his breath on it. "You know what you deserve, right?" I shook my head and turned to look at him. His devilish smile was back and he cried, "Nuggeee!"

He made a fist and rumpled my hair while I cringed and winced like the helpless victim that I was. "Chad! Quit it!"

He only shook his fist harder and covered my mouth with his other hand. "Mhhmmm!" I cried, before sinking my teeth into his hand-the one that wasn't hurt. He jerked back in pain and sucked on his finger.

"Ow! Sonny, that's very rude."

"You were bullying me," I told him, shrugging. I pouted and pretended to be mad at him. "You always make fun of me, and tease me, and never do any nice actions to me. All you do is bully me."

"Fine. I won't bully you." He walked closer and cupped my face with his hands, stroking my cheek with his uninjured hand, staring into my eyes. It had turned into night now, and everything was peaceful. But I could still see him clearly; his blue eyes now just dark orbs that sparkle in the luminous beam of the moon.

Chad walked even closer until his hips mingled with mine. But his head kept a fair amount of distance between us, like we were having a normal conversation.

"I love your smooth, flowing hair that matches your big brown eyes that make me want to melt. I love your smile that is so contagious, it can even make grumpy and dramatic people like me and Chelsea smile too. I love the way you pout when you're upset because you can't get something you want. I love your stubbornness, and your will to not give up. I love the way you're able to get everybody else to not give up either. I love your spirit, that somehow flows into everyone else, and spreads to everyone you meet. I _love_ your jealousy. I love your comedy, even though you're the only person who laughs at your jokes. I love your attitude towards things. I love your cheerfulness…" Chad paused, making sure I was still listening, and asked, "Do you want me to continue?"

I nodded right away and he chuckled.

"I love how you're not afraid to be your own person. I love your hugs. I love your kisses. I love your rock. I love your burp. I love seeing you drunk. I love carrying you. I love how you like to be carried princess-style. I love carrying you _princess -style._ I love your clumsiness. I love your innocence. I love your immaturity. I love your child-like mind. I love how you don't know what red peppers are. I love how much you eat. I love your cleverness. I love you prankster mind. I love how you stand up to me. I love our fights. I love our special moments together. I love every minute I spend with you. I love when I think of you every time I'm not with you. I love how it makes me want more of you. I love the joy I get when I see you. I love how you give me that joy when I'm with you. I love everything about you."

My heart was beating too fast to be measured right now, and I was amazed that I was still standing upright. If it wasn't for his hands supporting me around my face, and the fact that I want to hear him talk more, I probably would've fainted by now. The warm, fuzzy feeling was back and I had a nice feeling crawling up my spine, seeping into my cheeks, turning into a flush.

Chad wasn't finished yet, though. "I kissed you because I regretted acting that way to you that day. I knew that I should've been a little nicer…but I guess I didn't think it through. I hated not being able to talk to you every day. I knew you would never forgive me if I didn't explain it fast. But you wouldn't listen to me. I kissed you because…I was desperate. I guess if I did lose you, I'd want to savor every moment left. If you really wouldn't talk to me again after that moment, then I'd want to have one last kiss. But at that moment, I didn't know why I did it, though. It was an impulsive movement. But it made me realize…" Chad paused and let out a sigh, his eyes gleaming with complete devotion to his words. "…it made me realize how strong my feelings are for you."

He took another breath, and I felt my heart lurch, skipping a beat in the process. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do anything but listen to Chad. Look at Chad. Focus on Chad. Everything was about Chad, and only Chad.

"This is not a usual high-school crush," he whispered, his voice dropping low enough that it was barely audible. But I heard it. I heard everything he said, no matter how soft his voice gets. "I-I...I love you, Sonny."

I wanted to gasp. I wanted to scream. I wanted hug him-kiss him. I wanted to do _something_. But I just stood there, frozen.

Inside, I was yelling and bouncing up and down in pure excitement and joy. He had finally said it. There was no going back from it now. How could three small words seem so huge, and mean so much?

I wanted to cry, and laugh. Laugh mostly-because I was only joking about the bullying thing. And I got this life-altering answer as a response.

Chad was staring at me, with the same look of intensity he had on ever since he started the speech. I knew I needed to reply. But I couldn't. I was too speechless.

Finally, I took a deep breath and swallowed my inability to speak. I opened my mouth to respond but the minute I made a strangled-sounding sound, Alex and Dean came running out of…somewhere…jumping up and down happily.

"Finally! Finally!" they chanted, Alex giving me a tight hug, almost cutting off my circulation in doing so. She squeezed me even tighter even when I wheezed loudly, gasping for air. "You guys are _adorable_! That was the cutest speech ever, Chad!"

Dean was doing that guy-handshake thing to Chad over and over again. Chad was looking pretty annoyed with him, but he didn't say anything as he did the handshake for now the tenth time. "Good job, man! I'm so proud of you! Good job, man!"

"Alex," I puffed out, "Let…me…go…"

She loosened her hold on me, but didn't stop hugging me. "Oh! You guys took _so_ long to admit that. Gosh. Even Dean and I were faster."

"Yeah, but we beat you, dude," Dean told Chad, smirking smugly, "I kissed her. You didn't."

"Dean," Chad started calmly, jerking his hand away as Dean started to do another handshake. "I would've kissed her. If she replied she feels the same way about me. But she didn't. You wanna know why?"

"Why?" Both Alex and Dean asked obliviously.

"Because we have two _idiots_ for best friends!" Chad snapped at them. "Why are you guys here?"

Alex (finally) let go of me and placed her hand on her hip to glare at Chad. "Oh, I'm sorry, Chad. Sonny. Did we ruin your moment for you?"

"Yes!" We both cried in unison.

"Well so did you!" She marched to Dean, who was also glaring at us, and stuck her tongue out. "If you messed up our moment, then we're messing up yours too."

Chad's mouth dropped open as he came to a sudden realization. "You did this on purpose!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "I'm just not going to comment on that." She added softly, "And you call us idiots."

"Alex! Two wrongs don't make a right." I sighed, knowing that we did deserve it, but come on. They couldn't be _that_ mean. I mean, we weren't planning to interrupt their conversation. It was an accident. We were just too loud.

Alex shrugged. "Sorry…? Alright. We have to go. The others are probably looking for us."

"But-" I started, but Alex grabbed my arm and started dragging me back up to the restaurant.

"You'll have time to smooch later," she said bluntly, and then whispered, "If me and Dean have to go, so do you and Chad."

Well. I guess karma wasn't on my side. Thanks a lot, Karma.

* * *

_A/N: Review!_


	24. The Water Is My Friend

_A/N: I think this is the last of the emotional-explanation speeches the characters seem to be giving. Lol._

_This chapter is dedicated to:_

**Lyfeeee** _(thank youu! that makes me smile :D),_ **Liz-Beth520, Merci's Savior, prndth, sami8290, TheUnderstatement,**  
_and to my anonymous reviewers,_ **JemiStemiChanny220** _(lol, maybe a different story. lmao, we can't have him drunk too much!),_ **lolz3** _(thank youuu),_ **Rebecca** _(thank you! but er...that IS the prologue, and you DO realize there are more chapters after that, right? :P),_ **PurpleDanceStar** _(lols, thank you. and i think you should stick to_ **2Dream**._ idk why, i like it better. and yeah, it was sorta cliched, even though i TRY to not make it cliche, but yeah, it was. we need a little bit of clicheness in our life, dont we? lol, and idk if it really happened in 10 minutes, but i just needed a title. and it was from the "how to be a girly girl in ten days"),_ **ChannyIsBetterThanJemi** _(you have GOT to stop getting excited every time you get a shoutout. be more professional, sheesh! LOL. im joking, i get the same way if i get a shoutout :P but its because you guys are awesome reviewers and you NEED to get shoutouts! you deserve it! and also because i can't reply to you any other way...so this is how im replying. and so i shall reply: thank you. LOL :D), and last but not least (and trust me, she's not least. i cant EVER forget her :P),_** CHANNY LOVER **_(okay. you HAVE to make an account. that way, i can reply to you properly. lols, u dont even have to put stories, just make an account to talk to me. :) anyways, thanks for FOUR AWESOOOMEE LONG REVIEWS! n tell your brother he should've realized this is a good story-i wrote it, after all. :P im joking, but thanks for reading, both of you. Gosh, you talk a LOT! lmfao. your reviews made me laugh, actually. but thanks sooooo much! :D i did my happy review dance because of you :P thank you),_

_and also, my anonymous reviewer, _**channy4ever**_, for giving me the idea of Sonny teaching Chad how to swim. Didn't I tell you I would use it later on? Well, it's later and now I'm using it. :D_

_And anyone else. XD  
_

_Disclaimer: Really? Like, we're in chapter 23-this is not new anymore. Please leave me alone, Mr. Disclaimer sir.

* * *

_

23. The Water Is My Friend

**CPOV:**

"Guys," I called out, shutting the door behind me. "I'm home." The house was strangely quiet-usually this would be the time Elise would be watching her soap operas, turned up to full volume, and bawling her eyes out, making enough noise the whole house would be able to hear her.

But I didn't hear anything in the living room, or in the kitchen. It wasn't until I passed by my dad's office did I hear the faint sound of clicking and the ticking sound of fingers on a keyboard. I poked my head inside, opening the door slightly, and saw Elise and my dad hovered close together, staring intently at the screen. _What are they doing?_

Neither one of them noticed me and I was about to make my presence known when they both erupted in laughter, while pointing at the screen. I snuck up behind Elise stealthily and tiptoed above my dad's head to see what was on the screen.

My head started throbbing as I felt the blood rush to my head, and my face coloring red. "_Dad!_" I snapped at him. Both he and Elise jumped up in surprise before they turned sheepishly towards me. "What are you doing?"

"Ch-Chad…" he stammered, yanking at his tie uncomfortably. "I didn't think you'd be home by now. Didn't I say you could stay until ten?"

I raised my eyebrows and nodded towards the clock which read 10:35.

"Oh." He turned back to the screen and minimized it. "Well, you are very late then. Go to your room and think about what you've done."

"Dad. Are those my baby pictures?" I asked incredulously, referring to the stuff they were looking at.

"I'll be vatching my drrraamaa…" Elise mumbled quietly before exiting the room. She'd forgiven me for talking to her like that too, but it was still sort of awkward between us. I guess it was because I've never actually disobeyed her and treated her like a _maid_. She was always like…my aunt or second mother. She was never a maid.

Dad coughed and turned off the monitor. "What baby pictures?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why do you insist on using _my_ pictures for the speech every year?"

"Well…son…you're a perfect example and symbol for this hotel." Every year at James Inn, my dad takes all of his employees camping as a way of thanking them before they all get back to their own lives. It's usually around the last week of summer. He makes a big speech about how we've come together as a family every summer, and he hopes to see them all again next year. He always brings his laptop to camp and prepares a small slideshow-presentation thing to go through all of the memories each summer. This is also when he award people for employee of the month-or as he calls it, Employee of the Summer-and hands out medals and stuff.

Anyways, every year, he's always dead set on putting my baby pictures in the slideshow, though I have no idea why. I think it's a parent's job to try and include their child's infant stages as much as possible, and share it with the world. Every year, I always reject this idea, and forbid him to put it up. But every year, he tries to get me to agree, even though he knows I'll say no.

Dad was explaining his reason again about why he felt the need to include the pictures. I knew I was going to regret this later, but right now, I just wanted him to stop talking. "Alright," I interrupted, "You can put whatever you like."

"Really?" he asked, his eyes wide with excitement and surprise.

I waved my hand to him, motioning he could do as he liked and my dad smiled happily before pulling me in for a hug. "Thank you son!"

"Just no naked pictures," I grumbled.

"But they're the cutest ones-" he started to protest, before I cut him off simply with a glare. "Alright. I guess I should be grateful I get to use any at all."

"Exactly." I yawned and started to walk away when he called me back.

"Chad, wait a minute. I want to talk to you about something." Dad's smile was now replaced with a serious look of intensity staring right at me. He patted a chair, motioning for me to sit down. After a reluctant sigh, I slumped down in the chair, putting my legs up on the arm of his chair.

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't object to my sitting position. Dad folded his arms and leaned forward in that paternal way all fathers do. "Chad, I want to talk about the career slash job thing again." I stilled for a moment, but didn't say anything. I just kept staring at him with a straight emotionless face.

Dad continued, "I realized…I was wrong." He paused and stared into my eyes. With Dad, it was like I was looking at an older version of myself. Everyone always tells me I look a lot like my dad, but I never really see it. Except, staring into his crystal blue eyes, I could see myself staring at him with a stone-hard face, with the same coloured eyes. It was like looking at a mirror at the age of forty…something…whatever age my dad was.

"What?" I blurted without thinking.

"I realized I was wrong to tell you what you should do with your life, and what you shouldn't," he clarified. "I know that I want you to inherit this hotel someday, but you don't like that. That's not what _you_ want, it's what I want. It's every parent's job to worry about their children, Chad. I guess being an actor isn't something I'm familiar with. I want to make sure you'll be fine in taking care of yourself when I'm not here anymore. I want to be able to see that you know how to support yourself later on. I'm familiar with this hotel. I know that this hotel will be able to take care of all your needs in the future. But…acting…I'm not sure about that.

"But every parent needs to learn that their children aren't them. They need to find their own dreams and they need to work at it on their own. They need to find their own happiness and they need to find their own failures. They need to learn their own mistakes and successes. I was wrong to have tried to hold you back from that. And you were right, I'm sorry. Acting isn't just an easy job given to you all the time-"

"Even if I'm Chad Dylan Cooper," I added, smiling a bit.

He grinned slightly and nodded. "Right. Even if you're that. And I realize that you've been dealing with that pressure all these years, and in your own way, you've learned and grown a lot. I know that now. But if you're happy with your job, then I'm happy too. You're free to do whatever you like, and be whatever you want to be, Chad, and I'll support you one hundred percent."

I was stunned and speechless. Never in my life had I expected him to say that. "I…" I swallowed, my throat slightly dry, "Thanks, Dad. But my biggest dream isn't to be a star."

He frowned, furrowing his brows, but shook his head and smiled anyways. "Whatever it is, I'll support you."

"Every son's biggest dream is to have his father proud of him." For once, that line wasn't in any of my movies or show.

Dad gave me a rewarding smile, and reached over to pull me in his embrace. I clung on to him tightly, and he rubbed my back like he used to do when I was the little boy afraid of the dark in the middle of the night. "I've always been proud of you, Chad. I'm mostly frustrated, annoyed, irritated, and anxious around you, and a lot of times feel like I've had enough with you-like I'm fed up with you. But I'm never been _not_ proud of you."

I laughed and pulled back from the hug. "Thanks."

"If you want to enjoy the rest of your summer with your friends, you can," Dad offered, "I won't force you to stay here."

"Actually, it's precisely _because _I want to enjoy the summer with my friends that I have to stay." I shrugged and motioned to the picture of the hotel that hung above his computer desk, "Believe it or not, the place kinda grew on me."

My dad smirked, looking even more like me at that moment. "The _place_, or Sonny?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and left his office muttering, "Both", thinking he wouldn't hear, but he bellowed in laughter as soon as I said it.

"Oh, Chad…you kill me." I saw him shake his head, still chuckling slightly, before I closed the door of his office.

- OOO –

**SPOV:**

The only thing that's more embarrassing than a famous celebrity teen boy not knowing how to swim, and fluttering wildly out of control _in the shallow end, _is if that famous celebrity teen boy not knowing how to swim and fluttering wildly out of control in the shallow end, is surrounded by little kids who are nine years younger than him and know how to swim, and are laughing and pointing at him.

I let out an exasperated breath before crouching down to look Chad in the eye. "It's the shallow end, Chad. Just stand up."

He stopped swinging his arms and shakily planted his feet on the base of the pool. When he realized he wasn't going to drown, he breathed a sigh of relief and exhaled in liberation. Chad lifted his chin proudly, and puffed up his chest as if he'd just accomplished something none of us could have done.

"I did it!" he exclaimed.

"Wow, you are my _idol_, Chad," Michael said, "Have you ever thought about joining the Olympic swim team?" Bianca giggled at this, and Michael smirked smugly.

"You guys, stop making fun of Chad," I told them, my eyes flickering unsurely to him, "He's not that bad…"

The minute I said it, Chad started walking around in the pool-very slowly-since he was actually trying to walk. He did an awkward movement, and I think he was trying to run. "I'm doing it! I'm swimming!" he cried happily.

I slapped my forehead with my hand and tried not to listen to the kids' laughter. This has got to be the most embarrassing moment of my life, and it wasn't even _me_ who was causing the embarrassment.

"Okay! That's enough!" I yelled at them. "Bianca, you're in charge until I finish working with Chad. Go and lead the class to do laps in the deep end."

"Sweet, I'm in charge," she beamed, and then tapped Michael on the shoulder. "Hear that? You have to listen to me, now, Mike."

"Only after I'm done teaching Chad," I added worriedly.

She snorted and glanced at Chad, who was still walking around in the pool, convinced he was "swimming". Then she turned back to me with a sneer. "Trust me, that'll be a _long_ time. Good luck, Sonny."

She waved everyone to the deep end to start working on laps while my heart sank. What have I done? I gave my class over to the devil's little sister who used to be a devil herself. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm, and trust that Bianca wouldn't be that bad…

"Mike! Twenty laps of eggbeater! _Now!_" I heard her shout. Shoot.

I jumped inside the pool, determined to finish teaching Chad as soon as possible. He greeted me with a huge smile, nodding to his walking. "Hey, hey, Sonnay! How am I doing?"

"Terrible." I expected him to frown, but he shrugged and kept going, looking like a blonde penguin caught in the water. "Chad, that's not swimming. That's…just walking in the pool. You can't do that in the deep end."

"Well, I'll do the doggy-paddle."

"Chad, you started panicking when you went in the shallow end," I pointed out, "How are you supposed to stay calm enough in the deep end to do the doggy paddle?" When he didn't answer, I took it as an agreement. "Here, let's start with the basics." This is going to take a _long_ time...

"Come on, people! Pick it up! Let's go, let's go!" I heard Bianca screech, lounging in a new chair that was floating in the pool. I noticed it this morning when I came in and I felt a prick of jealousy that Bianca gets to be the first one to try it out, when she's not even a lifeguard. I made a mental note that as soon as this is over, I'm going to test out that new chair. I heard it came with pretty much everything you need to relax in the pool. State of the art technology...

Chad was still doing his weird water-walk, and only when he bumped into me did I realize we still had a lesson going on. I placed my hand on his shoulders, trying to get him to go in the water, and he started hyperventilating. "Stop trying to drown me! Help! Help! She's trying to drown me! Help!"

"Chad! Shut up," I hissed, sending apologetic smiles at the guests who turned to look at us. "I'm not trying to drown you. Stop being such a coward. The water is your _friend._ Repeat after me, Chad. The water is my _friend_."

"The water is my friend," he mimicked obediently.

"Good. Now believe it." I placed my hands on his shoulders gently again, and brought him down slowly. "Put your head in the water and hold your breath. You won't drown, Chad."

He whimpered slightly, squeezing his eyes shut, but he didn't object as I brought him further down. Down…down…down…"Aaah!" He shot out of the water like a bullet as soon as the water reached his chin.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"My hair's going to get wet!" he wailed.

I cried out in frustration and slapped the water at him. It sprayed him all over and drowned out his golden hair. Chad's jaw dropped as he stared at me like I was some evil scientist or something.

"Get in the pool, Chad, and put your head in. NOW." My teeth were gritted together as I struggled to keep my patience, and sanity. He pouted slightly, but jumped back in the pool with no complaint. I tried to dunk him again, but he shooed my hands away and submerged in the water by himself.

He stayed in there for a good thirty seconds, before coming back up, shaking his hair around like a wet dog. I nodded at him, impressed, but he didn't return my smile. He touched his hair cautiously, and his frowned deepen when felt it wet. "You're lucky I like you," he grumbled, grimacing again about his hair.

I ignored that, and continued with my lesson. "Now do the same thing, but this time, exhale through your nose in the water." He did that, and then came up for air again. "Good. Now put your face half in the water, half out, and blow bubbles. Like this." I crouched in the water and demonstrated what I wanted to do, and was about to tell him to try, when I realized he was already doing it.

"Nice, Chad. I'm impressed," I commented, but he just grumbled something incoherent and motioned for me to continue. "Lay down on your back, sticking your stomach up to float. This is called the starfish pose."

I expected him to fire a sarcastic comment about the name, but he stayed silent as he did as I instructed. I told him to do it face down after that, and then instructed him to do the pancake pose, combining the two positions together. He started with his head face down, and then flipped over to look up at the sky, and then back down again.

I was starting to think he didn't even need my help.

"Alright, then." I sat on the ledge of the pool and told him to follow me. I flexed my feet, and demonstrated the flutter kick to him. He copied my movement with no problem, in fact, looking bored of all this.

Next, we got back in the water, and I taught him the basics of the front crawl, teaching him how to move his arms and everything. Before we knew it, he was swimming across the shallow end, doing the front crawl…quite well, I might add.

When he finished, he asked in a dead tone, "What's next?"

I glared at him. "Chad…do you know how to swim?"

"What?" he blinked and then shrugged slightly. "Elise taught me a long time ago, but I haven't been swimming since I was eight."

"But you know perfectly well how to swim!" I told him, "Why are you so scared of swimming, when you know how to stay afloat…and not drown…and…" I stopped in mid-sentence as I stared at his ill-tempered expression, and I almost laughed out loud at his antics.

"Is the only reason you 'don't' know how to swim because you don't want to get your hair wet?" I asked, laughing a bit as I did.

Chad regarded me with a cautious expression before a tiny smile lit up on his face. "Wait. If I say no, does that mean you have to keep teaching me?"

"Well...yeah..." I didn't really want to know where this was going, judging by the mischeivious gleam shining in his piercing eyes.

"Then no," he said triumphantly, his small smile growing even wider. "Can we do something that involves you touching me?"

I rolled my eyes and smacked him behind the ear. "Seriously, Chad! Are you scared of swimming only because of your hair?"

He scowled at me and sighed. "I panicked, okay? When you pushed me in the water-that was the first time I've been swimming in years. And my hair was wet…I panicked and didn't remember anything Elise taught me. So sue me."

"So you're saying…you know how to swim?" I checked, feeling a bubble of excitement rise inside.

"I guess-" I didn't wait for him to finish. I was already out of the pool and running towards Bianca and the kids. And she said it was going to take a long time. That had to be the easiest class I've ever taught. I tapped Bianca, giving her a smug smile, "Thanks for taking my place, Bi. Now move aside and let your real teacher teach."

"What about Chad?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He was drying his hair furiously with a towel, looking even more irritated when it didn't try automatically.

"Turns out, he knows how to swim," I told her, shaking my head again at the absurdity of it all, "He was only scared of getting his hair wet."

Bianca scrunched up her face and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Typical Chad." She slipped into the pool beside Mike, who had just finished his twenty laps and was slumped against the wall-half dead.

"Yes," I agreed, giggling to myself, "Typical Chad."

* * *

_A/N: This was a filler for me. The swimming part didn't really relate to the story. I just wanted to include it because of the person who sent me the idea-I told her I would use it, and well, here I am!_


	25. A Very Interesting Night, Indeed

_A/N: Chapter 24. One more chapter before the epilogue, you guys!  
_

_TCIDT (I'm going to start abbreviating this now-This chapter is dedicated to):_

**channylover9753, unGRACEful, cassie-g, Jessy22213l, conversee, ChannyIsBetterThanJemi** _(Welcome to Fanfiction! :D And thanks for all the reviews, and alerts!),_ **WolfLover314,**  
_and to my anonymous reviewers_, **channyandtaco4eva, Fangirl, lolz3** _(it is a stupid thing, but this is CHAD we're talking about-the guy who came up with ba-bangs :P),_ **CHANNY LOVER** _(basically, i just want to say thank you for all your fantastic reviews :D they always make me smile.), _**jemistemichanny220, 2dream or 0neDream** _(my name is pronounced Ren-nee, but its not my real name. its just a nickname my friend came up for me. But that's what i go by here. If it was Ren-nay, i think it would've been spelled "Renee" but whatever. Thanks for the idea, but I've already written the story, and if I add MORE drama...it'll just go on too long. I'm planning to end it, so yeah. and hurry up and make an account already! I want to reply to you properly),_ **channyjemilover0199,**

_And anyone else who reads. _

_Remialcsid: .ecnahC a htiW nnoS nwo t'nod I  


* * *

_

24. A Very Interesting Night, Indeed

**SPOV:**

"Let me get this straight." Alex was staring intently at me with her brown eyes, folding her hands together while tapping her chin. "He confessed he loved you-LOVED-and you didn't reply. And now you had two days-TWO DAYS-to come up with a reply. And you _still haven't_ _replied?_" Her voice had risen into a horrified pitch and she was practically screeching in my ears.

I rubbed my head and whined. "Well, I would've said something to him if you and Dean hadn't-"

"Hey," she interrupted firmly, holding her hand up. "Let's not dwell on the past. I thought we were over that."

"I am," I assured her, giving her a tiny smile, "You just reminded me of it."

"Look, if you don't like him, you can just say it." Both Alex and I turned to the doorway where she was standing with her usual sneer on her pretty face. "Better to let him realize that you guys aren't meant to be. And then he'll come back to me."

"I never said I didn't like him…" I trailed off uncertainly and Chelsea smirked, sitting cross-legged in front of Alex with a gleam in her gorgeous eyes.

"Whatever. You can have him." Chelsea sniffed the air, her nose pointing upwards in a snooty way, "Anyone who chooses someone over _me_ has got to be delusional. Even if he _is_ my best friend. So someone like you would be perfect for someone like him."

A slow smile spread across my face as Chelsea pretended to look uninterested. "Is that your way of telling me you're okay with me?"

She blinked, and her frown deepened. "I never said that."

Alex snorted. "Do you realize how lame that sounds? You just made it rhyme-'meant to be' and 'come back to me'."

Chelsea narrowed her eyes at Alex and flipped her long red hair over her shoulder before plopping on the bed beside me. "We're not even on that subject anymore. You're lucky to even be here. Sonny made me invite you."

"Please," Alex scoffed haughtily, "You're lucky I _am_ here. Sonny made me _come_." She sprawled across the carpeted floor of Chelsea's bedroom, lying flat on her stomach, before she continued to flip pages aimlessly of the magazine she was reading.

Chelsea had invited me to sleepover her house-shocking, I know. But Chad suggested we should bond or something, even though I hadn't actually said I loved him back. Somewhere in his mind, he probably knows I'll say it back. Which he is dead-on about…but I hate the fact that he thinks he knows _everything_ about me.

Anyways, I didn't really want to have to face Chelsea for a whole night by myself, and convinced her to invite Alex as well. Well, it was more like "threatening". I told her I would tell Chad if she didn't invite Alex, and he'd be very disappointed with her. So, obviously, she said yes.

Getting Alex to come was much harder, since she was utterly convinced that it would a very uninteresting night with the witch herself, but I told her that it would somehow make Dean happy (don't ask how I did that, but I did), and she believed me and ended up coming.

So far, other than the occasional little fights between Alex and Chelsea, it's not such a bad sleepover. I mean, it wasn't actually a fun and interesting night like I'd hoped it would be, but it wasn't boring either. And, actually, I might even be starting to like Chelsea. Except she doesn't know that. And I will never admit it to her.

I glanced around Chelsea's room in marvel, feeling like Charlie getting his first tour of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Her room was amazing. It was probably twice the size of my room, and it was extravagant and massive. It was a room made for the wealthy, and definitely a place where royalty would sleep. But at the same time, it felt like a very cozy room to sleep in.

The walls were a fiery red, lined with white baseboards at the bottom. Almost everything in her room was red. Her large queen-sized canopy bed was red, surrounded by white pillows with gold trimmings on the side. The drapes were a delicate white, with spots of red glimmering as they cascaded to the floor with the curtains. The bed was stationed in the middle of the room, and rested atop of a small wooden-platform loft, with only her two white bedside tables joining it on either side. Right across from it, was a golden Plasma screen TV (I didn't even know they had a golden colour), that probably weighed more than me and Alex combined. Underneath the TV on the wall was her white cabinet, probably filled with accessories for the TV.

The floors were carpeted with the softest golden rug I've ever felt, with a funky-looking brown couch to the left of her bed. There were two red pillows on the couch, that matches the red and white beanbag chairs that were set up in front of it. That was where Alex was sprawled over, in a massive heap of pillows covering almost her entire bodies. I think Chelsea purposely set up that area for the sleepover, because it had a lot of her cute stuffed animals as well.

On the other side of her bed (the right side) was her vanity table and _huge_ golden-rimmed mirror. It was taller than her by a lot, reaching from the floor all the way to her huge ceiling, almost stretching up far enough to match the red flaming chandelier she had above her bed. Her vanity table was white and vast, with a lot of makeup products sprawled all over the table.

I noticed she has four brown-coloured doors in her room: one near her vanity table, which stretched across the room, like three different doors put together, one behind the couch, one was the door we used as an entrance to the room, and one to the right of the TV.

"Watch it, Russo," Chelsea snarled, bringing me back to their argument. "I could kick you out this very minute if you don't watch what you say."

"No you can't, Holman," Alex said, just as sweetly, "Chad won't like that very much."

I threw a fluffy pillow at Alex and interjected their conversation before Chelsea could get _really _angry. That won't make anyone happy. "Okay! I get it. Neither of you wants the other here. Can we move on?"

They both grumbled their unhappy and disjointed responses before Alex turned back to her magazine and Chelsea flipped on the TV. "So, Chelsea," I started cheerfully, attempting to make conversation, "You sure like red." I motioned to her room and she gave me a pointed look like I was a total idiot.

"Yeah, so?" she said blankly. Chelsea raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No!" I cried quickly, "I-I…don't. Of course not! In fact, I really like your room. You know red means that you're fiery. I mean, not that you are. U-Unless you want to be? Then in that case, you are. But er…I…red is for queens and stuff. You know like the queen of hearts. In card games. Well, hearts rule. And…I…speaking of cards…"

I smiled helplessly at her and glanced at Alex for help, who was looking at me with the same bemused expression Chelsea had on her face. I was about to start speaking up again to explain what I meant, when both Chelsea and Alex started chortling with laughter. Then they couldn't stop.

Alex was cracking up and Chelsea's face was _also_ red now, matching her room, and her red hair which seemed to go invisible every time she stood in front of the red walls.

"God, Sonny." Chelsea spoke up first, but she was still wiping her eyes from the tears. "I honestly don't know why Chad picked you."

"Me neither," Alex agreed, taking a few breaths to calm herself, "I mean, she _was_ the one who ate the red peppers at the party." All at once, the two girls started cackling again, while I was left to stare at my so-called best friend in bewilderment. Didn't they just hate each other like a few seconds ago?

When Chelsea saw my frowning face, she laid a manicured hand on my shoulder. "Dude. I was only joking. Chill."

"O-Oh." At my awkward response, Chelsea and Alex laughed even louder. I fought the urge to spit out a nasty comment that would make me seem petty, and eventually, they calmed down.

Okay. Subject change time.

"So what are those doors for?" I asked Chelsea, pointing to the three doors I was wondering about before, not including the entrance.

She smirked and hopped off the bed excitedly. She ran to the largest one and ushered both me and Alex to it. "This," she placed her hands on the handles and thrust the door open, "is my most prized possessions."

It revealed a room hidden behind it, and with a jolt I realized it was her _closet_. This was the size of a store! She had a trillion clothes on hangars, and some of them folded neatly on shelves. There were jewellery cases with shiny necklaces and earrings in them, and shoes that were stacked neatly, or laid out in nice little rows for us to marvel at.

She sauntered out of the room and showed us the door beside the TV. If it was another closet, I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly stopped going to malls. But it wasn't.

Instead, this smaller room was her own little office. And surprisingly, it wasn't red. In fact, I couldn't find one single thing in the room that was red. The walls were a plain white, and the desk was a brisk black wooden desk. It looked like a grownup's office. I saw a bunch of papers on her desk, and leaned in to read what it was.

"'College Application Forms'?" I read out, giving Chelsea an incredulous and impressed look. She rolled her eyes and shrugged slightly, but I could tell she was a little embarrassed. I took a closer look and almost gasped out loud. "Oh my gosh! You're applying to the college I'm going to be applying to next year!"

Chelsea's eyes widened and her head snapped to mine. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Woodbridge, right?" I squealed slightly and gripped her arm. "I didn't know you were smart!"

I watched as those green orbs of her narrow tightly before I realized my mistake and let go of her hand. I shifted uncomfortably. "Er…I mean…so…Woodbridge!"

Thankfully, she didn't dwell on the subject any longer. Chelsea pretended to be suddenly interested in her nails and leaned against the door frame. "Yeah. My dad wants me to go there, and it's been my dream to go too."

"Did you get accepted?" I asked.

"I didn't send it in yet, dummy," she picked up the paper and waved it in my face.

"Well, I hope you do," I told her genuinely, trying my best to smile warmly, "Honestly. It'll be so cool if we get to college together."

Chelsea grimaced slightly, but when she saw my eager expression, attempted to give me a nice smile back. It came out more as a sneer though, but I thought it was very nice of her to try.

I gasped as another idea filled my mind. "Oh! What if we're roomies?" Alex snorted at this, and started cracking up even louder at Chelsea's horrified expression. She excused herself and I could hear her laughing hysterically on the floor in Chelsea's bedroom.

"I…uh…" Chelsea pulled at her throat uncomfortably, but I squealed again in excitement and wrapped my arms around her.

"Oh, that'll be _so_ cool!" I cried, jumping up and down with her. She tried to break free, but I was persistent in keeping her there.

"Let go of me." Even though it came out frosty and cold, I knew that it was all an act now. Because I've come to realize that though she'll never change out of her "Chelsea ways", maybe she doesn't have to. She's actually not that bad once you get to know her.

I giggled and stepped back. "Sorry."

Chelsea blinked uncertainly and cleared her throat before following Alex to her room, who was still rolling on the floor. She kicked Alex gently in irritation. "Shut up."

Alex sat up and gave me a wide smile. "Hey, can you send me a picture of Chelsea's face, Sonny, if you guys actually _are_ roommates?"

"Shut up!" Chelsea threw a pillow in Alex's face, but she only laughed harder. "We might not be. Sonny's applying next year. I'm a year older. There's no way she'd get a room with someone older."

"No, but that's the thing about Woodbridge. They like to join different ages of people to help them get along better and-" I broke off when Chelsea whipped around to glare at me.

"But with so much people, it's probably unlikely," I amended quickly, receiving a satisfied smile from Chelsea.

She opened the door behind the couch and I knew we didn't need much of a tour for that one. "Bathroom." Chelsea left the door open before plopping back on her bed. The bathroom walls were white, but I could see the toilet seat cozy was red, and so was the shower curtain. So it kept up with the whole theme of the room.

"I'm hungry," Alex said suddenly, rubbing her stomach with a pout. "Which is weird. Since I just ate a big meal not too long ago."

"Maybe you smelled the food from downstairs when you were rolling on the floor," Chelsea muttered. Alex acted like she didn't hear what she said, but I did. I sat on the seat in front of her bed and pulled my legs up to my chest.

"I'm hungry too," I told her, "Can we order pizza?"

Chelsea huffed at me but a slow smirk spread onto her face. "Actually, I have a better idea." She took out her phone and called someone, telling them to come and make us some food before she flipped her phone off and pulled me and Alex up.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

"We're going to prank the delivery man," she answered, giving us a wicked smile. "Come on!"

- OOO –

Chelsea leaned against her large doorframe, crossing her arms and long, slender legs in attempt to look bored and uncaring. Or maybe she was trying to look sultry and fierce. Her jade eyes slithered down the delivery man's body uninterestedly, and she released a slow sigh.

"Took you long enough," she remarked in a blasé tone.

The delivery man whimpered slightly and held out the pizza box shakily. Even though I knew this was all an act, I felt sorry for the man. Chelsea is pretty intimidating-when she doesn't try to be. Imagine how she is when she actually _wants_ to be intimidating.

Chelsea raised her hand and the man cowered back slightly as if he thought she'd hit him. Instead, she grabbed the box and opened it. I could smell the alluring aroma of pepperoni and cheese. My stomach grumbled at the sudden yearning to taste it, and I sheepishly rubbed it quietly to shut it up.

"It's cold." Chelsea thrust the box at the man, who stumbled trying to catch it. She narrowed her stunning eyes in pinpricks and pouted her lips into her signature scowl. "I'm not paying for this."

"B-But…you have to t-take it," The delivery man stammered, "We have a p-policy o-o-of not wasting f-food."

"Well then you should've gotten here faster," she snapped, no sympathy ringing in her chilled voice. I watched as her eyes widened slightly, looking very much like an untamed cat ready to pounce. Her scowl turned into a sly sneer, and she stepped closer to the delivery man, taking the box of pizza from him. "Fine. I'll take this, just because I'm not too fond on wasting food myself."

The delivery man blinked, baffled, at her sudden change of attitude. "Erm…okay. That will be ten dollars-"

"I never said anything about paying," she said in a syrup-y tone, cutting him off smoothly. Chelsea's cat-like eyes were twinkling naughtily, her eyelashes batting coyly, and her lips curled into a feral grin.

"B-But-" This delivery man really sounded like Porky the Pig with his stammering and everything, and I was pretty sure Chelsea was getting really annoyed with him. But surprisingly, she kept up that calm, dangerous attitude.

"Tell me sir," she continued, showing the cover of the pizza box, "what does this say?" Her long red nails practically poked a hole through the box when she jabbed it in there.

His frightened brown eyes cast nervously down to the cover, which had the name of the pizza company, Mr. Pizza (not very creative, but o-okay…), and the company's slogan. "U-U-Um…'Comes fresh and hot under thirty minutes'."

"Hm. I ordered the pizza at six. Last I checked it is now," Chelsea made the effort of checking her imaginary watch on her wrist, "six forty-five."

"B-But-"

"I _refuse_ to pay for this pizza that's gone cold fifteen minutes ago!" The man reeled back from her outburst and the beads of sweat that was pouring down his forehead were pretty much a waterfall on his head by now. "Now you leave this instant or I will sue your stupid pizza place so hard, all you'll be able to afford is the 'P' in your 'Pizza' sign. _Understand_?"

"Y-Yes, m-ma'am," he whispered, bowing his head slightly.

"Good." Chelsea gave him a satisfied smirk and waved an airy hand at him. "Now scram before I call my lawyers."

She didn't need to tell him twice. By the time we had settled down back in Chelsea's bedroom, he was probably back in the courtesy of his shop. Poor guy.

Chelsea devoured on the pizza like it was her last meal, a contented smile spread out across her face. I raised my eyebrows at Alex, who just shrugged and reached for her fourth pizza with pleasure.

"Chelsea," I started, my tone a little weary and cautious.

She dropped her pizza on the plate and gave me a hard look. "Oh, don't start again, Sonny. I was just having a little fun. Look, you got your food. I didn't have to pay. He didn't get sued. Everyone's happy." She took my slice of pizza that I still haven't touched, and shoved it in front of my face, waving it around tauntingly. "Eat. And shut up before I change my mind about inviting you here."

I still thought it was wrong of her to be so mean, but in a way, I was sort of glad it wasn't directed towards me. So I guess that's sort of an improvement. I grudgingly took a bite of the pizza and realized just how hungry I was.

"Hey, Sonny," Alex called out, through a mouthful of pepperonis. I found out she was obsessed with picking off the pepperonis and saving it until the very end, before piling them all in her mouth, seeing exactly how much she could fit. Don't ask. This is Alex we're talking about. "If you don't want your pepperoni, you can always give it to me."

"What did she say?" Chelsea asked, her face writhing in disgust as she watched Alex attempt to swallow all those pepperonis.

I laughed and peeled off the excess pepperonis from mine and dumped them on Alex's plate, who somehow managed to smile brightly through her occupied mouth. "She wanted my pepperoni. It's fine," I added, after seeing Chelsea's strange look that was aimed at Alex, "I always like the cheese better."

"You guys, don't eat too much." Chelsea dusted off her fingers to her empty plate and winked. "We're going to get a gourmet meal soon enough."

"What gourmet meal?" I asked, at the same time Alex looked up, and mumbled, "Gourmet meal?" She looked exactly like a weird over-sized chipmunk with her cheeks all puffed up like that.

"Alex, gross!" I cried, backing away from her as some of the pepperoni spilled from her mouth. "Just swallow some!"

She replied with something I couldn't understand and I gave her a confused look. She sighed and started chewing until she was able to talk again. "I said, I was trying to go for a record. Geez."

"Well, do it at your own time. Your pepperoni is spilling all over my food." I glanced wearily at my Alex-spit-covered half-eaten pizza and felt my appetite drowning away. I pushed my plate to Alex and made a face. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Chelsea made an irritated grunt and flicked me with her finger.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You _are_ hungry," she told me, "Or at least you will be once you see the gourmet me-Alex! Stop eating the freaken pizza!" Alex was trying to stuff both her pizza and my half-eaten one into her mouth before Chelsea scolded her. "God, you're such a pig. Seriously. It's going to be really good."

I didn't have time to ask her where she could've gotten a gourmet meal since her parents were away, and apparently the chef only works under her parents' orders. And their orders were to order pizza. Which we did. So I didn't understand why-

The doorbell rang (chimed is more like it, since this is a rich house we're talking about), and Chelsea jumped excitedly up from the floor and ran out the door, yelling, "I'll get it!"

Alex and I shared a suspicious look before getting up to follow her. We caught her just as she was opening the door, squealing excitedly at someone and throwing her arms around them. "Finally!" she cried. "You're here!"

"Who are you hug-" I broke off as soon as I met a certain heartthrob's saucy smirk, feeling my heart's hammering quicken, and a queasy yet pleasant feeling swirl in my stomach.

Well. I was right. This was going to be a _very_ interesting night, indeed.

- OOO -

Chelsea suggested we all go out for barbeque in her backyard. To be honest, I really didn't care what we did. I was just glad Chad was there. I mean, I was sort of planning to tell him how I felt tomorrow, but I guess it'd be better to do it now. Dean and Adam had come with him, which was very surprising. Well, Adam coming was surprising. I'd be surprised if Dean _didn't_ come.

His eyes locked on Alex's the moment he stepped into the room, and made a leap towards her. Alex acted bored and unaffected by the action, but I could see in her eyes how happy she was.

"Chels, won't your neighbors be sort of annoyed if we make a lot of noise?" I asked her.

Chelsea snorted. "Sonny, are you stupid? Do you _see_ any neighbors?" Come to think of it, I didn't even look at anything else when I arrived at her house again. My eyes were focused on her house, because I seriously didn't remember it being that big when we came for the welcome party. But now that she mentioned it, I guess part of the reason I couldn't tear my eyes away, and _because_ it was so huge, was because there were no neighbors. I'd doubt the neighbors would be okay with a house taking up that much space and barely leaving any for them.

"This is a secluded neighborhood," Chelsea continued haughtily, "my house is the only one in this block. If you want 'neighbors', you'd have to walk a couple of miles from here, and you'd find a whole different neighborhood."

"Wow."

Chelsea gave me a suspicious look, like she couldn't figure out whether I was awed, or being sarcastic, so she didn't say anything and continued leading us to the backyard. Dean was already setting up the grill, and he even brought an apron (it said: ONE HOT MAMA...which made me realize it's probably not his apron).

I asked Chelsea why she ordered us pizza if she knew we were going to barbeque.

"Well, not that your little clueless mind would understand," she started, making me roll my eyes, "but I'll try my best to bring it down to your level and explain it to you. Do you really think my parents would allow me to do this in the middle of the night? With _boys_ alone? Of course not. You're delirious if you think they will. They'd think it's a party or whatever. So I ordered pizza as a cover up." She paused, and then released a sneer. "Understand, Sonny? Or do I have to bring it down a notch?"

"Chelsea, I'm not stupid. Of course I understand." It was really hard to keep the patience in my voice, but somehow I managed to say that sentence without strangling her.

"Hmm." She frowned, and turned back to the barbeque she was preparing to grill.

I heard rapping on the door and turned to see Bianca's sleepy face in the doorway. She rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly, making everyone turn around. When she registered the six pairs of eyes staring back at her, she let out a startled yelp. I glanced at Chelsea and saw an irritated expression on her face.

Bianca looked a little lost and scanned the crowd until her eyes landed on Chelsea. Her brown eyes narrowed into silts and she stood in a very intimidating pose for a nine-year-old. "Mom and Dad aren't going to be very happy when they hear about this."

Chelsea mimicked her pose, and it was like looking at two Chelseas, both very intimidating. "Mom and Dad _aren't_ going to hear about this."

"How are you so sure?" Bianca challenged.

"Because the person who tells them will have serious consequences," Chelsea shot back.

I held my breath, waiting to see how Bianca would react. Her expression told me that she was contemplating it-fight back, or give in? In the end, she heaved a sigh and gave Chelsea a smirk. "There's nothing you can do to me."

Chelsea's green eyes flashed, and she took a step forward as if she was about to attack Bianca. "You-"

"I won't tell," Bianca cut in, and her eyes flickered to the grill, "But I want some."

I saw Chelsea clench her teeth and she huffed at her sister. "_One_. You want _one_."

"No," Bianca was smiling proudly, she knew she had already won, "_Some_. As in, more than one ribs, _and_ steak."

Chelsea rolled her eyes but didn't respond to that. She just went to sit beside Adam in the patio table. Bianca took this as a win and marched towards the grill eagerly, leaning in to smell the juicy steak Dean was expertly cooking. I felt sort of disappointed. I wanted to see what Chelsea would do if Bianca did decide to tell. A list of endless gruesome possiblities filled my mind and I decided she made the right choice.

I sat down on the little couch on the deck beside Alex. "Hey," she greeted me, munching on her ribs that Dean had cooked first, especially for her. Maybe that's why she dated him-for the ribs.

"Hey."

"Lover boy's here," she sang, giving me a rib-filled smile. I laughed, grabbed a napkin from the table and dabbed it on her face. She muttered her thanks and scooted closer to me, bumping me with her elbow, since all of her hands were full. "So...are you gonna tell him?"

"Yes, Alex," I answered, "I was planning to tell him tomorrow, but since he's here...why not?"

"Exactly!" She smiled triumphantly as if that was her idea. "What are you going to say to him?"

"I don't know." I looked at her and sighed. "You know, Alex, this really isn't any of your business."

"So? That's never stopped me before." Alex tossed her rib into the garbage can and plunked her plate near Dean. "Deany-boy! Can I have another rib? Oh, and I call the first steak you cook."

Bianca looked up from her position to pout at Alex. "No fair! I was here first."

"Oh, really? Well, too bad. Are you Dean's girlfriend?" She didn't give Bianca any time to respond. "Didn't think so. Move aside, pipsqueak. When it comes to food, do _not_ mess with me." She pushed Bianca gently and gave Dean a huge expectant smile. He cringed back, and sent Bianca an apologetic smile on his girlfriend's behalf.

"Man, she _is_ a beast," a familiar voice rang through my ears and I looked up to see Chad shaking his head disapprovingly at Alex. He smirked at me before plopping down in the seat beside me. "Don't know what Dean sees in here."

"You know, Alex could say the same about-" I stopped in mid-sentence and felt my cheeks reddening.

Chad quirked his eyebrows cockily at me. "What? Say the same about what?"

"Er...about Chelsea...liking you," I amended, "I mean, I don't know what she saw in you." Chad raised his eyebrows in a smirk but didn't say anything. Why didn't I say it? That would've been the perfect opportunity to tell him how I felt. I could've said, _Alex could say the same about me liking you._ But I didn't. I cowered back. Man, I was a wimp.

Maybe it was because I was really scared of admitting my feelings. Even though I already knew how he felt, I didn't want to give myself to him, and then be hurt _again_. Or maybe it was because all of these people were here, and I just didn't want my confession to be in the midst of them all. Whatever the reason, I had to suck it up and just tell him. Before he changes his mind, and decides he doesn't like me that way.

"Food's ready!" Dean called out. Chelsea jumped up happily and started placing the ribs and steak on paper plates, passing it on to Adam, who arranged it nicely on the patio table. I started to get up to get my food when Chad placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing me down again.

"I'll get it," he said, flashing me a quick but genuine smile.

My heart fluttered furiously at the smile and I had this really good feeling in me. He _does_ like me. I had nothing to be afraid of. That's it. I decided I was going to tell him tonight, and that's final.

When Chad came back with our food, I asked him if he wanted to eat inside instead. We slipped away from the group unnoticed and made ourselves comfortable on Chelsea's couch. This is it...

"Chad, listen," I started, taking a deep breath. He was just about to take a bite of his rib, but put it aside to listen to me as soon as I started speaking. He was staring at me so intently, and almost, expectantly, I knew he'd been waiting for my response since he confessed. I felt even more terrible for not answering him right away.

"Yeah?"

"I...er...remember that party we had, and I ate those red peppers?" Okay, so I chickened out. But Chad didn't seem to know I did, so that's all that matters.

A smile played idley on his lips. "How could I forget? You almost blabbed to that critic."

"Yeah, well-wait. Why were you and that Ronald guy staring each other down? You had some kind of tension between each other."

Chad took a deep breath and clenched his teeth. "It was just a bad past. The last time he wrote a bad review was two years ago, because of me. I was messing around with people, and well, stuff happened. It got on the magazine, and my dad was really angry with me. Ronald knew how much dad's anger gets to me. He just likes to mess with me. Anyways, it's over now."

"Well, thank you for stopping me in time," I smiled warmly at him, "I guess that's one of the reasons I-" I clamped my mouth shut and felt my heartbeat quicken. Why can't I say it?

"Yes?" he prodded, urging me to continue.

"I-I...um...well..." _Come on Sonny,_ I scolded myself, _just say it. Say it. I like you. Say it. _I took another deep breath, closed my eyes, opened my mouth, and...

A scream erupted from the backyard as the lights suddenly powered down, pouring the pitch black around us. I heard Chad curse under his breath, and I felt like cursing as well. This was getting really annoying. Every time we have a moment, something interrupts us.

"What is it _now_?" I wailed.

"Chelsea probably used too much power on that grill," Chad answered glumly, "It happens all the time. Every time I come over, she always forgets to turn something off. Her mom is into saving power and all that, so she set the house so that every time Chelsea or Bianca overceeds the limit, all power would be shut down. It's to teach her a lesson, but as you can see, she hasn't learned it yet."

"So what caused this?"

"I don't know-"

"Sorry!" I heard Bianca squeak from outside. "I forgot to turn off the TV and computer in the basement."

"Oh, hell, Bianca!" Chelsea yelled. "Well, go turn it off!" I heard footsteps and then the door open, probably to the basement, before shutting again. I heard the agitated whispering outside coming from Alex, the occasional irritated grunts from Chelsea, and...I think Adam was humming.

I sighed in frustration and felt around for Chad's arm. "I can't see a single thing." Aren't my eyes supposed to have adjusted by now?

"You'll get used to it in a while," Chad answered, his tone a little dry and sharp. I don't think it was aimed at me this time. Trust me, he's not the only one who's annoyed by all this. We sat in silence for a while, waiting for Bianca to return, until Chad finally cursed again and shot out of his seat. "I can't take it. I'm going to find the control panel and put the lights back on."

I didn't even get to respond. He had already started feeling his way through the dark to get the control panel. After a few more minutes, I finally adjusted to the dark, but it was still really hard to see. The door to the backyard slid open and everyone came piling in.

They sat on the couch, and I imagined they weren't too happy about this either.

"Where's Chad?" Chelsea asked.

"He went to find the control panel," I answered.

"Does he _know_ where it is?" Chelsea didn't wait for me to answer because she had already stalked off, muttering something about having paranoid parents who were _so_ cramping her style, and how she couldn't wait to move out.

Alex and Dean were taking this opportunity to snuggle and, judging from the gross and _loud_ sounds, a make-out session. Ugh. They were a cute couple and everything, but _not_ when this happens.

"Hey, can you do that in your own time?" I snapped at them, after hearing that repulsive _smack_ing sound for the millionth time. "Be respectful to me and Adam, who _don't_ want to hear this. Right, Adam?"

There was no response.

"Adam's not here," Dean said, finally coming up for air, "I have no idea where he is."

"He probably ran because he was so disgusted by you two," I muttered. They didn't even bother to respond to that, and went back to snuggling and kissing, and ugh. "Okay. I'm going to find Chad." I really didn't know why I bothered to say that. It's not like they would _care_.

I felt my way around the dark, placing my hand on walls and objects to help me. Somehow, I made it to the kitchen without falling, and felt pretty proud of myself. For me, that was amazing. But when I got there, all feeling of pride and amazement dipassitated as I took in the sight before me.

Sitting on the counter, was Chelsea, kissing passionately. And the boy she was kissing-who was kissing as passionately as her-was none other than the jerkthrob himself.

Chad.

* * *

_A/N: AGAIN? MORE DRAMA? Sadly, yes. But again, I'm begging you to BEAR WITH ME…why? Because, sniff, sniff. That's right folks. The story is coming to an end :( awwws. Sniff. Sniff._

_There'll probably be one more chapter after this, and then an epilogue. And then I'm planning to include a one-shot, if any of you are interested? And then it'll be over. All over. Sniffle. _

_I know some of you are asking me to do a sequel…but hmm…I've been thinking about that. So we'll see. And we'll deal with the goodbyes when we get to it. Lol. And the thank you's (which I have many) later._

_Okay, then. _

_Review!_


	26. Game Over

_A/N: Last chapter before the epilogue! Thanks so much for all your reviews you guys. Thank you for reading this story. And for BEARING WITH ME! :D Thank you. You guys are the best, and have really helped me a lot. So thanks, and hope you enjoy this chapter. _

_TCIDT:_

**mashandbeans, PaCmAn FeVeR, Wisdomousgem, -fangs and ri-riona, twilight-obsessedYEPTWILIGHT, veeheart914, CatCullen1201, Merilinnuke14, hermioneraven, ChannyIsBetterThanJemi** _(aw man that sucks. couldn't you write it from a computer at your house instead of a laptop? but thanks for reviewing anyways, i appreciate it), _  
_and to my anonymous reviewers_, **armando41468**_ (because it's almost the end, and i felt like putting a cliffhanger. lol, sorry), _**OneDream 2Dream** _(if that's the name, then why don't you make an account? yeah, that's why im not putting in your idea, even though it was a good idea. because i already had this planned. but it's not much drama, since it's the end. so sorry for that.),_** channy 101 **_(aww thank youuu), _**KaitlynMagic,**

_And anyone else who reads.  
_

_Disclaimer: Nuh-uh.

* * *

  
_

25. Game Over

**SPOV:**

"I still can't believe he would do that," Alex muttered to herself, shaking her head. This has been going on for about two hours now.

I released an exasperated sigh and deadpanned, "Well, he did. So can you stop talking about it?"

"But maybe if you just talk to him and ask for an explanation-"

"Damn it, Alex!" I snapped, not quite meaning to, but I couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up. He did it. It's over. I don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?" She seemed taken aback by my outburst, but thankfully, she stopped talking about it. Instead, Alex went over to my bed and regarded the duffel bag I was packing up.

Her eyes widened and she ran over to stop me from packing. "Wait. Are you leaving? Because of him?"

I rolled my eyes and threw my pillow at her. "Yes. Because I'm _that_ melodramatic."

"Then-"

"Have you forgotten Mr. Condor's farewell trip is next week?" Every year, Mr. Condor apparently takes the whole crew out to camp somewhere, where we just roast marshmallows above a campfire and stuff...to..._bond_. Fun. He does it near the end of the summer every year, because I guess it's his way of thanking us and showing us that we're more than just his employees to him. And that we're one big happy family. Joy.

"Oh yeah," Alex replied sheepishly, "I thought you were _that _upset about...you-know-who."

"I thought we agreed to shut up," I mumbled, "And you can say Chad's name. I'm not upset."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," I answered indignantly, a little irritated she didn't believe me. I thought I was acting so well. "Now, can you leave it, Alex? Just stop talking about it."

Alex snorted and bounced off towards the washroom, grabbing her towel and clothes. "Fine, Cloudy. I'm taking a shower. Let's hope you're in a better mood when I come out." She shut the door before I could tell her I wasn't in a _bad_ mood. But there was no point in saying it anyways. She wouldn't have believed me. I pushed my bag aside and collapsed on my bed with a sigh.

I knew I was being really bitter right now, but I couldn't help it. And honestly? I have no idea how to feel about what Chad did. The minute I saw him...ahem...I ran up to Chelsea's room and locked myself in there until all the guys had left. Chelsea came in to ask me what I was doing up there, but I just ignored her. Alex tried to get me to tell her what happened, but I wouldn't say anything until we were making our way back to our dorm the next morning, or earlier today.

And naturally, defending her boyfriend's best friend, instead of her own best friend, she refused to believe it. Some part of me didn't want to believe it either, but I was tired. I was tired of doing this _again_. I was tired of playing games with Chad. I was tired of the on and off relationship. I mean, it was a fun little flirty game we had. But when it gets to this? When it gets to playing with each other's feelings? I was tired of that. I wanted to move on.

Playing with Chad was tiring. It's like every time I play, I can never win. And every time I lose, he would convince me to play again, making me think I would probably win the next time. And then the next time after that. And then the next time after that. But I was tired of losing over and over again. And I decided the only way to not lose the game, was if I stopped playing altogether. So I'm done with him.

He'll always be Chad Dylan Cooper from now on. The boy next to my studio, the teen star, the rival. And maybe we can be friends someday. But nothing more. I refused to get caught up in all this drama again. The one time I finally figure out my feelings, he did _that_ to me...I shook my head furiously to get myself to stop thinking about it.

It's over, Sonny. You're done. You have no feelings whatsoever for him.

Even though that's what I keep telling myself, I knew I was still jumbled up inside. I guess the better word for what I was feeling right now is _numb_. I was numb. I didn't feel anything at all. And I planned to shut out all feelings pushed towards me from Alex or Chad. Or myself. I planned to shut out all those feelings and just get through the last few weeks without any drama.

Because I'm done with playing games. It's_ over_.

Game over.

- OOO -

**CPOV:**

"Hey, Sonny!" I called out as soon as she entered the pool. I expected her to smile back, but she didn't. I couldn't see her expression clearly since she was wearing sunglasses. I jogged up to her with a bright smile on my face. "What happened last night? You weren't there after we fixed the lights and-"

"I was tired," she cut in, still not smiling. Her tone was more than a little dry.

I shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other and took in her impassive expression. "Er...are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered curtly, walking briskly towards her chair. I watched as she waved to Dean and gave him a big smile. They talked about something and I think he told her a joke because she started giggling that cute way she does whenever something's funny. I stood near the entrance, dumbfounded. Did I _miss_ something? Why was she being so hostile to me?

I walked towards her chair slowly and cautiously. She didn't _look_ mad. Actually, she didn't look..._anything_. Her face was stony and expressionless. What the heck was wrong with her?

I climbed on the first step to the lifeguard chair and poked her gently on her arm. She turned towards me, and her sunglasses slid down to the tip of her nose, revealing her lifeless eyes, casting me a bored expression. "Do you want something, Chad?"

"I-I, uh..."

"I have a job to do," she said, and then slid her glasses back up before turning back to watching the pool, "so if you don't mind..." Sonny waved her hand airily, shooing me away. I gawked at her in surprise.

"Okay, that's it." I tugged on her arm to get her to look at me again. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sonny gave me the most hateful glower I've ever seen her give someone and jerked her arm free. She opened her mouth, looking like she was about to give me another one of those long outbursts of hers. But then she thought better of it, shut her mouth, and slid her sunglasses back to her eyes before turning back to the pool.

"Nothing."

Judging from _that_ tone, I knew it was probably the only thing I would get from her today, so I jumped down from the chair and walked to Dean's chair. He caught my confused expression and raised an eyebrow at me.

I nodded my head towards the guy's change rooms, motioning for him to meet me there. He contemplated between leaving his shift and following my orders, but I sent him an urgent message through my eyes and he sighed and climbed down from the chair. I glanced at Sonny, but she didn't even spare a glance at Dean.

We made our way to the change rooms and there were a few guys inside. I told them to get out and they did. As soon as we were alone, I locked the room and Dean leaned casually against the wall, crossing his arms.

He sighed. "Is this about Sonny ignoring you?"

"You _know_?" I asked incredulously. His lazy eyes flickered to mine uncertainly and when he saw the air of death in my eyes, Dean gulped and smiled sheepishly at me.

"Alex told me," he muttered.

"And you didn't think of telling me?" I couldn't help but raise my voice to a yell.

Dean held up his hands defensively and slid to the floor. "Sorry, man. What you did was pretty...well, let's just say I'd be damned if I defended you."

"What did I do?" I demanded.

"Oh, come on, Chad," Dean rolled his eyes, and though his tone held no resentment, and neither did his expression, I could tell that he was pretty mad with me too. "It's pretty low. Even for you."

"But Dean, I have no idea what I did wrong!" I insisted, trying to get him to believe me.

Dean shook his head and stood up, patting me on my shoulder. "It's not that hard to figure out. Let's just say, whatever you did, Sonny saw it last night."

"Saw _what?_"

Dean sighed in exasperation and his eyes held a hint of sympathy for me, but mostly it was filled with disgust and repulse. I've never seen him look at me that way. He was my best friend, for god's sake. He tells me everything-usually. If he was unwilling to tell me now, then it must be _that _bad-whatever I did. _If_ I did something. "Figure out. I'm going back to work."

He unbolted the locks and trudged off, leaving me to ponder what I could've done to upset Sonny. And everyone else.

- OOO -

I caught Alex the minute she finished work at the gift shop. My guess is, she's just finished working with Chelsea from her punishment, because she was muttering unhappily to herself.

I ran up to her and grabbed her arm before dragging her behind the hotel to talk to her. She resisted, of course, and tried to break free, but I held on tighter. "Let go!"

"Not until you give me what I want," I told her firmly.

She stopped struggling and looked up at me with pure hatred. "Oh? What do you want, Chad? Another kiss from a different girl this time?" she spat out.

"_What_?" I blinked and lost my concentration for a second, loosening my hold on Alex. She slipped her arm away and rubbed it. "What the hell are you all mad at me for? I have no idea what I did wrong. Sonny was about to tell me something yesterday, and then she hid in her room, and now...I have no idea what I did."

Alex snorted. "Don't give me that."

"Look, I don't want a kiss from anyone but Sonny."

"Right." Alex scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "That was so obvious yesterday."

"What are you talking about? I didn't kiss anyone last night!" I wasn't lying to her. What did Sonny see last night? I didn't even realize she was there with me when I was trying to find the control panel. But it was only me. And then Bianca came downstairs. But...ew. I wouldn't kiss Bianca. It was only me and Bianca-

My thoughts were interrupted with a slap across my face and I winced while rubbing my cheek, giving Alex a 'what was that for?' look. "You're unbelievable, Chad. You had to go and kiss Chelsea. Sonny was about to tell you...well, never mind. It's too late now. She's not even admitting how broken hearted she is. She's denying all feelings for you-"

"Wait. Slow down." I covered Alex's mouth because she kept jabbering, and I couldn't stop her any other way. "Kiss Chelsea? Are you serious? I would never kiss her."

"Really? Then explain last night." I opened my mouth to respond, but Alex shook her head and continued, "No. Forget it. I don't want to hear it. You'll never be forgiven for this. Sonny hates you. And you know what? I don't blame her. I hate you too. I hope you're happy with Chelsea."

She turned on her heel angrily and started to walk away while I stood still, staring at the ground pointlessly, feeling stunned. I was so confused. I knew I should've ran after Alex and asked her to explain it, but I couldn't.

_It's too late now. She's denying all feelings for you. Sonny hates you_.

I didn't do anything last night. I didn't kiss Chelsea. I didn't kiss anyone. What could I possibly have done to make her hate me? The thought of that-of her hating me-brought an aching pain in my heart, and I felt dead.

After a few minutes, I realized I'd been standing there for a while, and decided to go home. I forced my feet to move, but it felt like I was picking up an anchor, trying my best to lug it, with its heavy weight pulling me down. My head was hung low as I dragged myself from behind the hotel.

I heard a sigh, and at first, I thought it came from my mouth, but then it was shortly followed by, "Are you going home or not?"

I looked up to see Alex with an annoyed frown on her face. "What are you doing?"

"I expected you to leave or do _something_ once I left," she started, "but then I saw you still here. Doing nothing. So I came back to see what was up."

"Alex, I didn't do anything last night," I insisted, grabbing her by the shoulders, and staring into her eyes to try to convince her. "You have to believe me."

Her eyes flickered uncertainly back and forth and she looked like she was fighting with herself whether or not to keep listening to me. "Sonny saw you and Chelsea kissing in the kitchen in the middle of the blackout."

"But that's impossible. I was downstairs in the basement looking for the control panel." I paused, and added, "Even ask Bianca. She came down shortly after me."

"Bianca?" Alex looked even more perplexed and she bit her lip.

"Yes, she was there." I sighed and squeezed her shoulders tighter. "Alex," I swallowed, "Please. I didn't do anything. I didn't kiss anybody last night. I swear to you. I _swear_. Please believe me. Even my own best friend doesn't believe me. You have to believe me."

"B-But..." she stuttered helplessly. I knew she wanted to be a good friend to Sonny and stick by her side, but I also knew she was starting to believe me. "If it's not you...t-then...who...?"

"I don't know." I tried to communicate with my eyes to her, pleading with them to get her to listen and believe me. "Look. I know we're not close. I know we don't really like each other. But we both care about Sonny. And you believed me about the time when I yelled at Sonny, and that time I actually _did_ something wrong. So why can't you believe me now when I didn't do anything?"

Alex looked utterly lost, but she didn't respond to that.

I gripped her harder and clenched my fists, breathing out softly, "Please?" I knew it was unlike me to beg for help, but I was desperate. And I knew she could see just how desperate I was. I really didn't want Sonny to hate me. I couldn't stand it if she actually did.

"Please believe me," I whispered once more.

- OOO -

**SPOV:**

Sometimes in life, you encounter weird and strange things that are very hard to explain. Like why the Earth is round, instead of flat. And why the Earth doesn't have rings, but Saturn does. Or why dogs bark, not meow. Or why humans can talk, and why animals can't. Or why Alex and Chelsea are talking hushed up at the end of the line, being civil and courteous to each other. Civil and Courteous. _Alex_ and _Chelsea_. I racked my brain to try and come up with a reasonable and logical explanation for this strange exchange between them, but found none.

We were lining up to enter the bus that was supposed to take us to our campsite for the farewell camping trip. Alex was standing beside me a few moments ago, but when Chelsea sauntered in, she immediately ran to her, grabbing her by the arm, and dragged her to a secluded area near the end of the line, without so much as a simple, "Be right back" to me.

I wondered what it was about, but realized I wasn't supposed to care. So I took out my phone and played a few games to keep myself busy, and not let my mind wander to the back of the line.

When we all piled onto the bus, Alex took a seat beside me with a strange expression on her small face. Her eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought and she wasn't saying much, which was very unusual for Alex. I wanted to ask her what that was all about, but I didn't want to give the impression I actually cared. So I just ignored her, and labelled her strange behaviour as hormones.

The guys mounded onto the bus shortly afterwards, howling loudly with excitement like typical guys would. The only one who wasn't cheering, or whopping with excitement, was Chad. He had a deep frown on his face, and he too, looked like he was thinking about something very important. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Alex, and I realized she'd been mouthing something to him.

She abruptly stopped when she saw me looking at her, and pretended to be suddenly interested in her phone. I glanced at Chad out of curiosity, and found him staring back at me. His eyes sparked to life as soon as he caught me looking at him, and he gave me a tiny smile.

I scowled at him and turned to the window to stare at the nice, Chad-less, view. I can't believe this. Was Alex planning something behind my back again? I can't believe she would take Chad's side again after what he did to me. I really need to get a new best friend.

I felt a tap beside me, and at first, I planned to ignore it, but then I turned to meet Alex's hopeful eyes staring back at me. "What?"

"Erm..." Alex shifted slightly in her seat so that her body was angled towards me. She took a deep breath and cringed when she saw how annoyed and angry I was. "Before you get mad-"

"Too late," I interrupted, narrowing my eyes, "Traitor."

"But Sonny, you got it all wrong-"

I whipped around to her, knowing that my eyes were probably on fire right now. I felt them burning, and Alex cringed again and leaned away from me. I struggled to keep my voice steady, and somewhat calm, but it was hard because with every word I spoke, I felt like I was strangling myself. The strain of keeping quiet and not raising my voice was too hard. "_I_ got it all wrong? Which side are you _on_?"

"Well, to be honest..." Alex trailed off, and I glared at her.

"Never mind." I huffed at her before turning back to the window.

Alex tugged on my sleeve to try and get me to turn back to her but I ignored her. Eventually, she gave up and left me be. The bus started moving, but Alex and I didn't speak to each other for the entire ride. Once, I felt her get up, probably to talk to Dean...or worse, Chad. But when I peeked over my shoulder, I saw her talking to Adam.

Adam?

What was she doing? Don't tell me she's got Adam on Chad's side too? Well, this is just great. Everyone is always on Chad's side. Just because he's Mr. Teen Heartthrob.

I felt someone return to the seat beside me, and I quickly turned back to the window, and pretended to be really occupied with admiring the view. We passed by lots of trees already, but we were still on paved road, and there were still some civilization around, so I knew we weren't that far from the hotel, and still had a long way to go to the campsite.

The person beside me cleared their throat, and I figured it was Alex's way of getting me to turn to her. But I ignored her, and kept looking at the sky that was currently a splendid mix of changing colours. Specks of orange, red, yellow, and gray splattered across the sky, painting the beginning of a sunrise.

Normally, I'd be really amazed at the beauty of nature and all that, but right now, I was staring at the colours with as much excitement as me with math. To me, the colours were as lifeless and dull as my feelings right now. I knew they were there, but I couldn't feel as if they were.

"Look, I really don't want to show everyone I'm capable of being nice to you. I mean, that one time, was just that...one time. But lately, I've been sucked into a lot of mess, and everyone's been asking me to fix it," The stuck-up voice rambled, and then heaved a sigh, "So whoop-dee-doo. I'm fixing it. So can you just make up with Chad so my job will be done, and then we can go back to hating each other? I mean, I really was surprised when little Ms. Gift Shop came up to me and asked for help. And I didn't want to at first-"

"So why are you?" I couldn't help but slip out. I turned to Chelsea, who was sitting at the edge of her seat like she was getting ready to get up again.

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "She was _a_-noy-_ing_! Alex wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't come here to talk to you."

"Well you did, so now you can leave," I told her. For some reason, my tone wasn't as harsh to her. Maybe it was because I was just worn out, and felt a little disappointed that she would betray me like that. I mean, I actually thought she would give up on Chad by now. And that we were starting to get along, and maybe even be somewhat of friends.

"Not until you make up with Chad," Chelsea persisted, curling up her lip to a sneer. "There are two sides to a story, you know. And you, Sonny, aren't always the brightest when it comes to relationships. Anyways, should I remind you of what would happen if you ignore him for the rest of your life?"

"I'm not going to ignore him," I said, in a small voice, "But I'm not going to befriend him or date him either. I decided to treat him as an acquaintance. If I don't play the game, I won't lose." I don't know what is it with Chelsea that makes me spill out my feelings to her, and no one else.

"That's a load of crap," Chelsea remarked bluntly. I expected her to give me another one of her pep talks, but I guess she realized my mind was made up and shook her head with a sigh. "Fine. Whatever." She started to get up and move back to her seat, but then at the last minute, turned to me with a look of disapproval. "You'll only lose if you count yourself out of the game."

- OOO -

We stopped at _Billy's Big Burgers_ on the way to the campsite around midday. Everyone was chattering animatedly to themselves as they filed out of the bus. I lugged myself out of the bus solemnly, distancing myself from everyone.

Alex was with Adam and Chelsea, still talking about something. They were hunched over like a little clique, and looking dead serious. I ignored them and isolated myself from everyone, walking straight into the restaurant.

My head was cast towards the floor, so I didn't see him in front of me until I crashed right into him. He steadied me while I swayed and bolted upright. "Sorry," I muttered.

Chad smirked, before realizing I was mad at him. His smirk dipassitated instantly when he caught my expression. "Sonny-"

I shook my head and ran out the restaurant before he could launch into another rubbish explanation.

I ran towards the beach in which Alex and Dean got together, and sat on a bench to look out at the view. I tried to get that feeling I always get whenever I see nature, but it wouldn't come. The colours were nothing to me. I felt hollow and empty. I felt nothing.

Putting my head in my hands, I heaved a weary sigh, and tried to get my feelings straight. I wanted to feel pain. Because I know that once I do, it will eventually heal. But if I felt nothing...well, I can't heal that, now, can I? You can't heal what isn't there.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I wanted to slap the person beside me, thinking it was Chad, but then I realized there was no way Chad would ever _tap_ me. He would probably come up with a loud and annoying way to get me to notice him, like tug on my sleeve.

I lifted my head up cautiously, and relaxed slightly when I saw it was Adam. He flittered his hand in a tiny wave and gave me a bashful smile. "Hey, Adam," I croaked, my throat dry and parched.

"Sonny, I know you don't want to listen to Chad, or Alex, or Chelsea," he started, and I desperately wanted to shut him up, but I didn't know him well enough to be rude to him like Chad or Alex, and I didn't hate him like Chelsea. So I let him talk. "But please, you have to listen to me."

"I have to?" I repeated, stalling a bit.

He nodded briskly, his eyebrows furrowing, as if this was a very important mission he was sent to. And it was his duty to complete it. "Yes. You must. You see, there are two sides to a story, Sonny. And though you are very smart, I'm sure, I don't think yours was right."

"Adam," I couldn't help but interrupt, "Not to be rude or anything, but I kind of want to be alone."

"But-"

"Sorry, Adam." I reached out to pat his hand sympathetically. "I know you're just trying to help. It's not your fault what a jerk Chad is."

Adam opened his mouth to protest, but I covered it with my hand and stroked his arm apologetically. He looked upset, so I squeezed his arm, and tried my best to smile. "Just mind your own business, okay, Adam?"

I moved to get up from the bench, but an icy voice pierced through me and halted me. "Oh, it's not enough you stole Chad from me, but now you have to steal my boyfriend too?"

- OOO -

"B-Boyfriend?" I stuttered, staring at Chelsea in shock.

She didn't look mad; more like, amused. Chelsea trailed her fingers on the edge of the bench before standing beside Adam to pat him on the shoulder.

"What? Is that so hard to believe?"

"Kind of," I muttered. Then I blinked and my eyes widened. "But then…why'd you kiss Chad in the kitchen last night?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes and took a step towards me like she was ready to pounce. "You stupid idiot. That's what everyone's been trying to tell you. I _didn't kiss Chad._"

"That can't be right," I shook my head furiously to ignore all the voices in my head telling me to believe her. "I know what I saw."

"But what if what you saw isn't really what you saw, so then technically, you didn't see it, so you won't know what you saw?" Chelsea pointed out, narrowing her eyes at me.

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "_What_?"

"Look, just talk to Chad, okay?" Chelsea motioned to someone behind me, and I heard his footsteps getting closer. I groaned inwardly, but pretended not to notice him and continued talking to Chelsea.

"I am _not_ talking to Chad," I said in a steady voice, walking past her slowly and what I hoped to be subtly, "I am _never_ ever, _ever_ talking to Chad aga-whoa!" In the middle of my sentence, I felt myself being lifted up, and found Chad carrying me over his shoulder.

I pounded on his back, making fists with my hands, telling him to let me down. "Put me down, Chad! I mean it. I swear I'll never-oof!" Chad had jerked my body so that I was near falling, probably to shut me up.

He turned to Adam and Chelsea. "Tell my dad to wait for us. This won't take long." I could hear the smirk in his voice as he turned down the beach, walking down a path that led us to the dock on where he professed his feelings for me.

He finally let me down and spread out his arms so I couldn't get past him. I rolled my eyes but didn't even try to attempt to escape.

"I didn't kiss anyone," he said, dead-serious.

"I never said you did." I smirked, but he frowned at me and gave me a look to shut up.

"Sonny, would you say me and Adam look alike?"

I regarded him strangely and shook my head. "You're crazy. What does this have to do with anything?" He didn't respond to that, only waited patiently for my answer. I sighed and nodded. "Yeah. You do. So?"

"Do you know that Adam and Chelsea are together?"

"Yes. Stop changing the subject!" I yelled, getting really annoyed.

Chad took me by the shoulders and shook me hard. "I. Did. Not. Kiss. Chelsea."

"Oh, stop it, Chad!" I snapped, and jerked his hands away from my shoulders. It was like my heart opened up and I started to feel again. The numbness faded away and all I felt was a cold, gut-stabbing pain thrust through me. I knew it was what I wanted, but I didn't know it could feel this bad.

I tried to get by Chad and run, but he reached out and grabbed my arm at the last minute to pull me back. "No. You stop it, Sonny. Listen to me."

I wriggled and squirmed, trying to get out of his grasp, but he only held on tighter. Finally, I stared him in the eye, and saw all intensity and all seriousness in them.

"Listen to me," he said more firmly, "It wasn't me who kissed Chelsea. It was Adam. You even said we looked alike. I was downstairs, searching for the control panel, just like I said I was. If you don't believe me, ask Bianca."

I froze. The reality was seeping through my brain, and I started to believe him. I think he sensed I was starting to believe him too, because a tiny smile crept up his face.

He eventually let go of my arm and pushed past me gently, to walk back to the beach. He turned back to shrug and give me a heart-stopping grin. "That's all I have to say. If you still don't want anything to do with me, then I'll leave you alone. I just needed you to hear the truth."

My mouth was hung open, but no words came out. I felt terrible and ashamed for jumping to conclusions. And embarrassed. I knew my cheeks were burning up with humiliation, but Chad didn't comment on them. Instead, he waited for a second, looking very expectant that I was going to say something, but I was too speechless.

Then he nodded solemnly once. "Alright. That's that." And he turned on his heel to walk back up the path we came from.

It was like all thoughts of denying I had feelings for him, denying I was hurt by him, convincing myself that I was over him and didn't need him anymore, all thoughts that I had pushed in the back of my mind came rushing through me at once. It was like a mass of emotions came crashing through me at once and swirled around in my brain, making me thoroughly perplexed. But there was one thought that stood out of all the rest, screaming inside my brain over and over again.

I knew I was lying to myself all this time about not feeling anything for him, but the truth was, I do. And that was quite obvious by the thousands of voices in my head that seemed to be telling me the same thing.

"I like you," I blurted without thinking, feeling another blush creep to my cheeks, "I really, really…like you."

Chad halted in his tracks to turn around. He stared at me in shock for a split second, and then, with no warning, ran back down the path and pulled me closer before placing his mouth on mine. He cupped my cheek with one hand, while using the other to tilt my neck towards him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and one of his hands moved from my cheek to my waist, pulling me even closer.

The feeling of the kiss was a thousand times better than I'd imagined it. Even though we've kissed before, this kiss was even better. It was the start of something new, and for once, neither one of us was drunk or angry with each other. _This_ was our first kiss, to me. The first of many, I knew, because this kiss marked the beginning our relationship.

Chad pulled away, and stared into my eyes, smiling. He rubbed a circular motion on my cheeks with his thumb gently before pulling me back in for another kiss. I loved that. It was like the mere sight of me could make him happy.

Our feelings merged together inside the kiss, dancing and weaving through our happiness, making the kiss all the more pleasurable.

I pushed him away gently, but he continued to kiss my cheek, then my neck, my shoulders, my jaw line, and back to my cheek again, nuzzling it like he did on his bed. "Maybe even love," I added breathlessly in his ear, talking about my feelings.

He chuckled softly before placing the tip of his nose on my forehead, giving me a kiss on the bridge of my nose. "Not maybe," he whispered, "It _is_ love."

"Cocky, much?" I teased and he pulled back, giving me a playful glare.

"Is that reflex, again?" he asked, "Denying your feelings?" Chad backed away to the beach and I trailed after him. He plopped down on the warm sand, sinking into it like a bed. "I knew it. I knew you loved me."

I shook my head, smiling, and kicked sand in his face. He spluttered and shook his head furiously to get it out. When he could finally open his eyes, Chad gave me a look of murder and growled, before lunging towards me.

I shrieked and ran back up to the path of the beach to dodge him.

We didn't think about where we were running to. We just ran, laughing and smiling like little kids, unaware of everything else around us. To us, we were the only two people in the world, and no one else was in our little playground.

I didn't even feel tired as I ran. Ran with Chad behind me, both of us emanating pure bliss and happiness as we did.

Game over.

* * *

_A/N: There. You see? Happy ending. Although you guys are too good-or maybe I'm too predictable. But I was hoping you wouldn't remember Adam looking alike with him, but good job if you did. A lot of you got that part. So veryyy good. _

_Anyways, thanks so much everyone. And THE EPILOGUE is next! Alrighty, review please.  
_


	27. Epilogue

_A/N: Sniff! OMG! It's the end! Finally the end! But it's only the end of the story. I still have some deleted scenes if any of you are interested, and a one-shot I plan on writing for this story. AND I have a long list of thank you's for everyone who reads. So yeah. You'll hear more from me._

_And this epilogue would be better if you're listening to the song, "Summer Fades to Fall" by Faber Drive, while you read the story. :P_

_TCIDT:_

**Elizy, maddddi, prndth, l0v3p1nk17, manatees46607,**  
_and to my anonymous reviewer,_ **Sara** _(thank you!), _

_And anyone else._

_Disclaimer: Get lost.

* * *

_

Epilogue

**SPOV:**

The colours in the sky finally meant something to me again. There was life in them, and life in me. I felt happy-happier than I've ever felt in my entire life. There was something about watching the beauty of nature that's enthralling. It breathes life into you.

_I count down the days, until we say goodbye,_

_I wish there was a way, that I could just stop time._

It was the second day of camp. I had snuck out early in the morning out of our tent to watch the first sunrise of Fall. I couldn't believe how this fast this summer just flew by. I sat on the edge of the lake, my feet in the cold morning water, and my butt on the warm sand.

I was determined to see that beautiful sunrise. Of course, in my fantasy, Chad was there-holding me, and we were romantically basking in the sun, staring at the wonderful colours...yeah. But he's not. So maybe it'll be romantic if I pretend he's here.

The colours of the sky were still dark, but it was beginning to clear up, and you could see the early makings of the sunrise. It was a good place to think, and a good place for a reflection.

Reflection on all the things that happened this summer. Whether they were good or bad, I seemed to be letting all of the bad things go, and sucking in the good things, so that they'll forever be remembered in my mind.

_Forever, remember,_

_Summer nights we've spent together_

This summer was supposed to be about me going to college. About me focusing on work. Nothing that happened this summer was about work. It wasn't anything I had planned. And yet, those were the things that I treasured most. Alex was right. I was a good student, and I had a long way to go. I had another year before I had to buckle down and really get to work for college.

This summer, I should've enjoyed myself. And looking back, I realized that I did. And that was what made this summer unforgettable, and definitely the best of my life.

_On my car, counting stars,_

_Just wishing I..._

Part of me wants to stay here, and continue my work here all year round. But I knew that Marshall would need me back at So Random. And I knew I'd be back next year-not for college, but because I actually like this job. And we've become a family. And you know that you're never far apart from family.

_Could stay (I know we only met a month ago),_

_With you (it's always hard to let the feelings go),_

_When summer fades to fall._

"Sonny?" I turned around to find a sleepy-eyed Chad rubbing his hair. He flashed me a smile, and I beckoned him over to sit beside me. "What are you doing?"

_I'd stay (I should've known that this would come and go),_

"Watching the sunrise," I answered in a hushed voice. In moments like this, you don't know why you be quiet, you just do. I guess it's more quiet and serene or something.

Chad stretched out his arms and yawned loudly. So much for "quiet" and "serene". "That's weird."

"You're weird," I retorted, almost immediately, feeling irritated with him that he would ruin such a good moment. Isn't this the part where something romantic between two lovers happen? He was better in my fantasy. Right now, he's ruining my reflection time. I almost wanted to tell him to go back to sleep, but that would be even ruder, and ruin the moment even more.

_With you (and now we'll only get the afterglow),_

He smirked at my childish response and started playing with my hair, twirling it around his fingers. He yawned again and I let out a snort. "Why don't you go back to sleep, Chad?"

"Because that's exactly what you want me to do," he answered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear affectionately, "So therefore, I can't."

I stuck my tongue out at him playfully and slapped his hand away. "Then stop yawning, and just look at the beautiful sky."

He quirked his eyebrow at me skeptically. Chad turned to the sky and gave me a pointed look, shaking his head. "What beautiful sky? It's dark."

"_Oh_...shut up, Chad!" I groaned and placed my head in my hands. He was supposed to be the romantic guy and hold my hand or something, and we kiss, and watch the sunset peacefully together.

Why does he have to make this _so_ hard?

_Far away from you, only time will tell,_

_When we're back in school, will you meet someone else?_

I felt him stroke my hair patiently, and then trailed his finger down my spine, shooting pleasant shivers up and down my body. I felt him lean towards me and nuzzle my cheek with his nose. His cool breath blew into my ear, and I giggled from the ticklish feeling.

When I lifted my head, he was smiling in amusement. I frowned at him, and he sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Fine. I'll watch the beautiful sky with you."

_Remember, forever,_

_Summer nights we've spent together,_

I smiled in triumph and turned back to the sky. It really was pretty-it wasn't that dark anymore. You could start to see the colours-hints of red were starting to show. We waited without saying anything for a few more minutes, and somewhere in between, Chad yawned again.

He eventually placed his head on my shoulder and his eyes fluttered close. I had the urge to go and join him, but I was determined to watch the dang sunset. But why does the dang sunset have to take so dang long?

I was getting bored. I glanced at Chad's peaceful sleeping form, and bit my lip. Maybe I should...No. This is going to be my reflection period. I _will_ watch the sunset.

_Holding hands, making plans,_

_Just wishing I..._

I stifled a yawn and tried to keep my eyes open. I glanced back at Chad and a smile came to my lips, and I let out a small giggle. To think we kept this whole flirting game for so long. But maybe, maybe that's how we expressed our feelings to each other.

I couldn't wait to go back to the studio, to see everyone. But at the same time, I was scared. If I could stop time this instant, and just live in it forever, I would. Because this is a perfect moment. Actually, it would be more perfect if Chad was _awake_. But still.

_Could stay (I know we only met a month ago),_

_With you (it's always hard to let the feelings go),_

I missed everyone-Tawni, Nico, Grady, Zora, Marshall. I missed my mom and dad too. I wonder how they're going to take the news of me and Chad getting together. The whole rivalry of our show might be another reason we played that flirting game.

It worries me-to see their reaction to it. But I know that we'll get through it. I mean...they can't hold a grudge forever, can they?

My eyes widened at that thought and I immediately shook Chad awake. He mumbled a few things, and his eyes shot open. "What?"

"What are our friends going to say about us?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.

He stared at me like he couldn't believe I woke him up for something as trivial as that. Well, it's not trivial, mister. And it's his fault he's not romantic. A boyfriend is supposed to be romantic...okay, well, not all the time, but still. _My_ boyfriend is supposed to be romantic.

_When summer fades to fall._

Chad groaned and rubbed his eyes groggily. "They're going to say, 'whatever' because they probably couldn't care less. Either that, or they've known this was going to happen for a long time, and say they're happy for us."

"Won't they be upset?"

Chad shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see." He yawned and rested his head on my shoulder again. "I'm not a morning person," he grumbled unhappily.

_I'd stay (I should've known that this would come and go),_

I laughed, and pushed his head off me. "Just watch the sunrise. It'll make you a morning person."

_With you (and now we'll only get the afterglow),_

"Doubt it," Chad muttered, but he straightened up and laid his eyes on the changing sky. You could see the peak of the sun, and the orange horizon surrounding it. It was _magical_.

_When summer fades to fall._

I shifted closer to him, and he pulled me in his lap, enveloping me in his arms. His chin rested on my shoulder, and he nuzzled my neck again with his cheek. I remembered Caitlyn and Evan's exact pose at the party. And I remembered envying her that she had someone to hold her like that, someone who adored her. That seemed like ages ago.

And now, I'm in the same position she's in, but I found myself thinking that mine was better. After all, it's not every day you get to date Chad Dylan Cooper.

_Every time I think of you,_

I snickered to myself, and Chad brought my head up to give me a strange look. "What's so funny?"

I planted a chaste kiss on his lips and leaned against him, getting comfortable. "This whole summer."

"That explains it."

_I don't wanna face the truth,_

I laughed again, but closed my eyes and relaxed in his arms. The sun was halfway up now, and it was such a shock to see that this "small" little thing, would mark the end of summer. It would mark the start of fall.

Fall brings us whole new possibilities. It would be a different place, different people, different jobs...

"Chad?" I whispered.

He murmured against my neck sleepily. "Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I know."

_Why wait forever, knowing,_

_We may never follow through?_

I reached back to slap him across the cheek, and he made a face and winced. "You're supposed to say it back."

Despite his pained cheek, Chad smirked and wrapped his arms around me again. "I already said it once. Why do I have to say it again?"

"You're impossible," I huffed, mildly irritated.

_Guess I should get over you,_

He chuckled. "I know."

A small smile crept up my lips and I sighed. "But I love you for that."

_But I can't let go so soon._

_Why wait forever, knowing,_

_We may never follow through?_

Chad paused, and he grew silent for a moment, and I thought he had fallen asleep again. But then he turned me around and cupped his hands around my face, giving me a kiss. I linked my hands around his neck and pulled him closer, getting into the kiss myself.

_(I'll wait forever just for you)_

We broke apart, and surfaced for air, and Chad blew the hair out of my eyes. "I know."

_I count down the days until we say goodbye_

_I wish there was a way that I could just stop time_

_Just wishing I..._

"And you love me," I said, with the most certainty I've ever felt in my life. It was there, in the deep core of my heart, shouting out at me. I didn't have any more doubts about it. I knew it was true, whether he says it or not.

"I know." A smug smirk was on his face in a split second, and I slapped him again on his cheek. But it wasn't so hard this time.

We turned back to the sunrise, and was surprised to see all the splashes of colours that had somehow evolved while we were kissing. It was the same colours I saw before, but now, it meant something to me. It was wonderful.

_Could stay (I know we only met a month ago)_

_With you (it's always hard to let the feelings go)_

"Wow," Chad breathed, "It's pretty."

"I told you."

"Prettier than you," he added, a smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, and decided to get him for that later. I was too engrossed in the colours to slap him again.

_When summer fades to fall._

I should've brought my camera. But then again, if I did, I wouldn't have the opportunity to be cuddling with Chad. I'd be too busy taking pictures.

And _that_ would ruin the moment.

Still...it would be nice to capture this on film. Oh well. We still have a few more days of camp left. I think I'll be able to take a few pictures then.

"Thanks for inviting us, best friend." Chad and I whipped around to see the whole gang looking irritated with us. Alex stood in the middle, her arms crossed over her chest, but a smirk was on her pretty little face.

"Alex, you're not a morning person," I told her, releasing myself from Chad's arms.

"So? I wanted to watch the first sunrise of Fall," she said, plopping down on the sand next to us. I glanced over her shoulder to see Dean, Chelsea, Adam, Erica, Paul, Caitlyn, Evan, Ray, and Julia piling down beside her.

Chad stared at the crowd of people blankly, like he couldn't believe where they all came from. I couldn't either.

So much for that romantic fantasy of me and Chad.

_I should have known that this would come and go_

_And now we'll only get the afterglow, when...  
_

Everyone started chattering animatedly about how pretty the sunset was, and they were "oohing" and "aahing" loudly. Though I loved my friends that I've made this summer, I didn't really love them _here_, _right now._

Judging by Chad's bemused expression; I'd say he agrees with me. He caught my eye, and I gave him a devilish smirk, before motioning to sneak away. He nodded, and together, we started up the path to camp quietly.

I kept listening to Alex's voice to make sure they haven't noticed.

So far so good...

"...and then this big shark came in the way, but then I woke up, and realized it was just a dream," Alex was saying, "So then I wake up and see that Sonny wasn't there beside me. And that's why I decided to look for you guys-hey. Where'd they go?"

Shoot.

I tugged on Chad's sleeve, and made a run for the woods, just as our friends turned around. They spotted us, and I could hear Alex shouting, "Follow them!", and leading the mob of people like warriors.

We tried running faster, but they were like a pack of wolves, all focused on their prey. Alex was the pack leader and she kept hollering and waving her arms like it's supposed to make her run faster. "Come on, you guys! Tackle them!"

I caught Chad's horrified look, and we swerved back to the beach because it had wider space. "_Get them_!" Alex yelled.

I started laughing, and pretty soon, couldn't take it anymore. I was laughing so hard, I collapsed onto the sandy ground, bringing Chad down with me. He was red in the face from the laughter, and we landed on the ground just as the group of people started to tackle us.

All's well that ends well.

Well. At least I got to see the sunrise for a few minutes with Chad without any interruptions.

And I kind of saw it in between Dean and Adam's big heads. And Chad was on the ground beside me (though I couldn't see him, I think Alex tackled him down. I kind of heard his muffled protests though, so technically, he was there beside me), "watching" the last of the sunrise as-

_Summer fades to fall... _

_- _OOO -_  
_

**- End -**

* * *

_A/N: I'm not going to get all emotional and say the thank you's here. :P As I said, you're going to hear more from me._

_Stay tuned for a one-shot based on this story! _

_But thanks for now :D_


	28. Dedications

Dedications

Thank you all so much for reading the story, and reviewing :) It means a lot to me. And I just like to take this time to thank all of you who's ever alerted, reviewed, favourited, or read this story. If I missed you, then I apologize, or if I said your name twice.

Note: The anonymous reviewers are in a different section near the bottom.

Thank you to:

**xocharleyfletcherxo  
sonnycentral  
Kerropiyvonne  
Harryfan94  
Gallaghergirlwannabe  
darkfaith500  
klcthenerd  
WhiteRose6136  
Bhavana331  
SparklingPC  
Cat1030  
percabeth97  
smitchieaddict  
n2cute4u  
xxHeadInTheStarsxx  
udita  
timbermoonkiss  
Squirrelflightlover  
carolinebaby23  
narnialove  
percabethforever369  
SWAC4Life  
cleverkateroo  
ichel.x  
nk2000  
nanny kiwi gurl  
Shippo7777  
S-W-A-C-fan123  
elizabeth567  
starsandstripesforever****  
falling-in-love-with-him.  
XxbreebreexX1995  
purplenpeace4evaaa  
LilHaven  
WinglesslyWinged  
Sprinkles664  
Demi-Fan-Channy  
channy4eva  
kippycat  
TwilightMaxiumXHungerGames  
JonasBrother94  
choirsinger  
Don'tTellMeDon'tWriteBack  
Thecla  
Urgurl1925  
ChelseaBaby  
sonny with a zebra shirt  
readergirl12345  
ChannyandSterlinglover1123  
blackberryboo  
catzeyez  
lalawriter2000  
JazzyLuvsU  
Racheliscool  
amfabulous  
nana518  
NIKKIRUBIO101  
XxLive-Laugh-Luv-LifeXx  
dancerava  
rosepetals186  
edwardcullenxoxo  
Queen Daenerys  
MarthaD  
rachelito  
Music Marauder  
Fluffness  
Roses 'n Horses  
Deathwishedx3  
thatharlequingirl  
Diversecrowd128  
SonnyChadFan  
xoshannii101  
so oblivious  
lyrically-correct  
Authorgirl818  
vampiregirlsrule  
kychelledebeast  
xmichellet  
BJG Pwn  
dominique-han  
devil6967  
cecills  
UndeniablyFabulous  
mahjong90mulan  
pompeystar  
beckybubble  
Krystal Oceans****  
sweet blossom89  
Star in the Night Sky  
Kbell108  
ChannyFan4ever  
Aznpride21  
Prisquilliard  
.xx  
cute854854  
Hiilani  
magret7  
raybanlove  
.forever  
DanieAnonymous  
eromdaer451QI  
TeddyLuver  
tennisgirlxx23  
ate27dani  
kaitlynmagic  
Everafterjunkie  
Lovely SOS  
Animegirlfan  
anime sony  
mirage888  
****Brenna May  
Julia Sonshine  
J0929L  
BlueEyesxx  
Anichu90  
. . . Jadiee . . .  
'.girl'-8  
Kita emmett McCarty Cullen  
Jane Redbird  
Just a Tucking Fypo  
LolaAnnabelle47  
Emica99  
thatsmymycookie  
Reflection noitcelfeR  
Vicasaurus  
Channyallthewaybaby  
evesediacm  
SUMMERG97  
L. H. smile.  
Lyfeeee  
xxBeenieBabyxx  
Tee and Biscuits  
YummyTastyJessi  
iamkiley  
CAEH1995  
TrishaBisha  
S3r3ndipity  
-RAWRiBITE-  
bmwgirl123  
pinaypinay  
TheMisunderstoodWriter  
jesslovesglee  
kpj316  
xEleshax  
KeithZetterstrom  
Jenny579  
stacie619  
Joker236  
BurstingFlower  
Lady-Apricotxx  
WHADAYA THINK. CAUSE I DUNNO  
lifeinstructions  
gomee23LuvsPercy  
TheirDiamonds  
Princess-Sled  
channyfan13  
AbbielovesChanny  
bmwgirl123  
S-musiclover  
LilChante  
KayDee-DesignerExtraordinare  
poppysmic59  
channy1441997  
unwritten010778  
rachelg1630  
Sabie1309****Lady Weird  
Sonny112  
Sunneshine123****  
penguin1  
leesuhx7  
lilachic17  
gleekers  
Zillionz  
LOVEandDREAMS  
HP DIVA  
XxXBlondeBabeXxX  
Reemagirl  
FranDS44444  
AsphyxiatedSelfMedicated  
xmarkersarecoolx  
A-Not-So-Bad-Ending  
mcooper11  
justbmm  
xxjhopsterxx  
Geekquality  
Littleprincess0721  
Angel-Hearts12  
BahCo  
sonnywithachancelover  
Sexychad-sonny  
Sorrel14  
Liz-Beth520  
Merci's Savior  
prndth  
sami8290  
TheUnderstatement  
****ChannyIsBetterThanJemi  
channylover9753  
unGRACEful  
cassie-g  
Jessy22213l****  
conversee**  
**WolfLover314**  
**mashandbeans  
PaCmAn FeVeR  
Wisdomousgem  
-fangs and ri-riona  
twilight-obsessedYEPTWILIGHT  
veeheart914  
CatCullen1201  
Merilinnuke14  
hermioneraven  
****Elizy  
maddddi  
prndth  
l0v3p1nk17  
manatees46607  
ChannyFreak**

AND TO MY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

**hey yo!  
Chelsea 0  
HumorMe 0  
BLAHBLAHBLAH  
lolz3  
Hazelnut299  
channy4ever  
channy1441997  
Mawoh  
stacie619  
wacogirl16  
Ali  
xoshannii101  
ssfghhj  
MegVampLover  
dodah!**/**dudah!  
****Danielle Thompson  
Chanii3220  
ChAnNyFaN  
fnsdjf****  
ella101  
channy101  
Natasha  
CHANNY LOVER  
JemiStemiChanny220  
PurpleDanceStar**/**2Dream  
****channyandtaco4eva  
Fangirl**  
**channyjemilover0199**  
**armando41468**  
**KaitlynMagic  
****Sara**

And anyone else who reads. :) Thank you again everyone!


End file.
